
°00lB5a67HH 



H.OSHEIM'S 

CHURCH HISTORY, 



OF 



THE FIRST TWO CENTURIES, 

(Macla trie's Translation ,) 



IN WHICH 



THE RISE, PROGRESS, AND VARIATIONS 



OF 



CHURCH POWER, 



ARE CONSIDERED IN THEIR CONNEXION WITH THE STATE OF 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY, 



AND THE 



Political History of Europe during that period. 



PUBLISHED BY S. K. HOSHOUR, A. M. 

CAMBRIDGE CITY, INDIANA. 



i 



MILTON, IA. 

PRINTED BY C . B . B E N T L E Y | 

1847. 



T& 
$ 









PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. 



Y6- 

Respected Reader: We live in an age pre-eminently char- 
acterized by the spirit of inquiry. And the range of that 
spirit comprises the whole extent of society and nature. Its 
direction is towards the origin, or constituent elements of 
things. Whoever wishes to investigate matters successfully 
must begin the origin or primary principles of subjects. In 
this way, the spirit of investigation has evolved many of 
those conveniences which are so highly conducive to the civil 
and domestic comfort of the present age. It would betray 
some listlessness on our part, not to suppose that that same 
spirit of inquiry would enter the enclosures of religion. It 
has done it. All the commotions and divisions among the 
different denominations of Christian professors, are evidences 
of the fact. For nearly all the leading denominations in 
this Union have been subjects of division and subdivisions. 
The Lutheran church, the oldest Protestant denomination, 
has been divided into Generalists and Hinkelites, into Old 
andXew Measure parties; the Episcopalians into High and 
Low church ; the Presbyterians into Old and New school; 
the Baptists into Calvanistic and Free Will, and other minor 
parties ; the Methodists into Episcopal Methodists, Protestant 
Methodists, and True Wesleyans, and even the otherwise paci- 
fic Friends, have been divided into Orthodox and Hicksites. 
Men are inquiring after original principles. Human author- 
ity in religious matters, is on the wane. But it is to be re- 
gretted that the different denominations in their discussions 
of the question, " Who of the denomination constitutes tb e 



4 Publisher's prefacet. 

original church of the order, " did not in their inquiries after 
first principles, go back to ffM original principles of Chris- 
tianity instead of to the principles that characterized the ori- 
ginators of their party, a few hundred years ago. That is 
too great a distance on this side of the right place. In civil 
government it is constantly inculcated that a frequent recur- 
rence to first principles is essentially necessary for the pre- 
servation of our civil immunities; and not less ought it to 
be so, in ascertaining the true character of the Christian 
faith. We must go back and ascertain what the first Chris- 
tians believed and practiced. They were the best exponents 
of "the faith once delivered to the saints," within the whole 

scope of inquiry upon this subject. 

In furnishing you with this volume, the subscriber aims to 

put you in possession of a means by which, in connexion 
with a proper study of the New Testament, you will be able 
to form a correct and safe idea of the original character of 
Christianity; and will also enable you to form an estimate 
of the nearness to, or remoteness from 1 the primitive standard, 
of any religious operations you may witness at the present 
day, and to decide how far professed Christians have departed 
from the ancient faith. Mosheim, pronounced Mos-hime, not 
Mosh-eem,the author of the work now in your hands, was a 
Lutheran, and one of the most learned men of Germany. 
He wrote numerous works of various sizes, and died in the 
year 1755. His History is a Mandmg authority in the usual 
course of orthodox Theological studies. 

Should you meet some things in his History which you 
have hitherto considered as novel peculiarities of some pro- 
fessors of the Christian faith, in your midst, please to bear in 
mind that the force of truth and the spirit of impartiality, 
and not his party position, impelled him to state things as 
they existed among the first Christians. I give you his His- 
tory of the first and second centuries without note and com- 
ment, and without any additions whatever of my own ; nor 



PUBLISHER'S PREFACE., 

did I think profitable or essential to give his own notes, as 
they generally consist of references to ancient authors ; and 
those that are not so, do not throw any special light on the 
subjects to which they refer. A few of the important points 
have been italicised to arrest the reader's attention. It is 
hoped you will read his introduction carefully. It is true, 
that it was written for his whole work, but in view of its val- 
uable import it was deemed proper to insert the w T hole of it 
in this volume. Reader, have you a family growing up that 
can read and reflect? then put this book into their hands ; it 
will, in connexion with the Bible, aid them much to decide 
how to embrace and cherish the Christian faith. May your 
reading of Christian antiquities produce in you an attach- 
ment to the Redeemer of your spirit, and lead you to such a 
a course of obedience to him, as will issue in your eternal 
salvation! 

,S. K. HOSHOUR, 






INTRODUCTION. 



DeShition of Church History— Division of Church History into external and 
interna! — The external winch comprehends the prosperous and calamitous 
events that happened to the chiifcft— Prosperous even's — Calamitous events 
— Internal history, which comprehends, — First, the history of the Christian 
Teachers — Secondly, the history of the doctrines and laws of the church— 
Rul^s necessary to be observed in giving a history of the doctrines of the 
christian church — Thirdly, the history of its ceremonies and worship- — 
nrthly, the history of the heresies that have divided it— In treating Church 
History, events are to be considered in connexion with their causes— Geaie- 
method o\ investigating the secret causes of things — More particular 
rules for coming to this knowledge in the external history of the church; 
and in its internal history — The sources from whence Church Hisrory must 
be derived — The essential qualities of Church History — A historian g 
be free from a servile attachment to times, men, and opinions — The defects 
that are visible in the writers of Church. History — The advantages that re- 
: from the study of Church History— General and particular — The meth- 
od of treating Church History in its external and internal branches. 

CiirRCH History is a clear ami faithful narration of tlie 
transactions, revolutions, and events that relate to that large 
community which bears the name of Jesus Christ, and is 
vulgarly known under the denomination of the church. It 
comprehends both the external and internal condition of this 
community, and so connects each event with the causes from 
which it proceeds, and the instruments which have been con- 
cerned in its production, that the attentive reader may be led 
to' observe the displays of providential wisdom and goodness 
in the preservation of the church, and thus find his piety im- 
proved, as well as his knowledge. 

The church, founded by the ministry and death of Christ, 
cannot be represented with more perspicuity and propriety 
than under the notion of a society subjected to a lawful do- 
minion, and governed by certain laws and institutions, most- 
ly of a moral and spiritual tendency. To such a society ma- 
ny external events must happen, which will advance or op- 
pose its interests, and accelerate or retard its progress to- 
ds perfection, in consequence of its unavoidable connex- 
ion with the course and revolutions of human ailairs. More- 
over, as nothing is stable and uniform where the imperfec- 
tions of humanity take place, this religious society beside the 



g INTRODUCTION. 

vicissitudes to which it must be exposed from the influence 
of external events, must be liable to various changes in its in- 
ternal constitution. In this view of things then it appears, 
that the history of the church, like that of the state, may be 
divided, with propriety into two general branches, which we 
may call its external and internal history. 

The extern I history of the church comprehends all the 
changes, vicissitudes, and events, that have diversified the ex- 
ternal, state and condition of this sacred community. And 
as all public societies have their periods of lustre and decay, 
and are exposed to revolutions both of a happy and calam- 
itous nature^ so this first branch of Church History may be sub- 
divided into two, comprehending respectively, the prosperous 
and cal nnitous events that have happened to the church. 

The prosperous events that have contributed to extend the 
limits, or to augment the influence of the Christian church, 
have proceeded either from its rulers and leaders, or from the 
subordinate members of this great community. Under the 
former Class, we rank its public rulers, such as princes magis- 
trates, and pontiffs, who, by their authority and laws, their 
liberality, and even their arms, have maintained its cause and 
extended its borders ; as also its more private leaders, its 
learned and pious teachers, whose wise counsel^, pious ex- 
ploits, eminent examples, and distinguished abilities have 
contributed most to promote its true prosperity and lustre. — 
Under the latter class, we may comprehend the advantages 
which tfte cause of Christianity has derived from the active 
faith, the invincible constancy, the fervent piety, and exten- 
sive charity of its genuine professers, who, by the attractive 
lustre of these amiable virtues, have led many into the way 
of truth, and engaged them to submit themselves to the em- 
pire of the Messiah. 

Under the Calamitous events that have happened to the 
church may be comprehended the injuries it has received 
from the vices and passions of its friends, and the bitter op- 
position and insiduous stratagems of its enemies. The pro- 
fessors of Christianity, and more especially the teachers and 
rulers of the Church, have done unspeakable detriment to 
the Cause of religion, by their ignorance and sloth, their lux- 
ury and ambition, their uncharitable zeal, animosities and 
contentions, of which many shocking examples will be ex- 
hibited in the course of this history. Christianity had public 
enemies to encounter, even princes and magistrates, who op- 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

posed its progress by penal laws, and blood-thirsty persecu- 
tion : it had also private and inveterate adversaries in a cer- 
tain set of philosophers, or rather sophists, who, enslaved to 
superstition, or abandoned to atheism, endeavoured to blast 
the rising church by their perfidious accusations and their 
virulent writings. 

Such then are the events that are exhibited to our view 
in the external history of the church. Its internal history 
comprehends the changes and vicissitudes that have happened 
in its inward constitution, in that system of discipline and 
doctrine by which it stands distinguished from all other reli- 
gious societies. This branch may be properly termed the 
History of the Christian Religion. The causes of these inter- 
nal changes are to be sought for principally in the conduct 
and measures of those who have presided and borne rule in 
the ehurch. It has been too frequently their practice to inter- 
pret the truths and precepts of religion in a manner accommo- 
dated to their particular systems, nay, to their private interest; 
and while they have found in some implicit obedience 
they have met with warm opposition from others. Hence 
have proceeded theological broils and civil commotions, in 
which the cause of religion has often been defended at the 
expense both of justice and humanity. All these things 
must be observed with the strictest attention by a church his- 
torian. 

The first thing, therefore, that should be naturally treated 
in the internal history of the church, is the history of its minis- 
ters, rulers, and form of government. When we look back 
to the commencement of the Christian church, we find its 
government administered jointly by the pastors and the peo- 
ple. But, in process of time, the scene changes, and we see 
these pastors affecting an air of pre-eminence and superiori- 
ity, trampling upon the rights and privileges of the commu- 
nity, and assuming to themselves a supreme authority both 
in civil and religious matters. This invasion of the rights of 
the people was at length carried to such a height, that a sin- 
gle man administered, or at feast pretended a right to admin- 
i<ter, the affairs of the whole church with an unlimited sway. 
Among the teachers of these early times, there were some 
who acquired, by their learned labors, a shining reputation, 
and an universal influence; they were regarded as oracles; 
their decisions were handed down to posterity as sacred rules 
of faith and practice ; and they thus deserve to be mention- 



10 INTRODUCTION* 

ed, with particular distinction, among the governors of the 
church, though no part of its public administration was ac- 
tually in their hands. 

After giving an account of the rulers and teachers of the 
church, the church historian proceeds to exhibit a view of the 
laws that are peculiar to this sacred community, that form as 
it were, its centre of union, and distinguish it from all oth- 
er religious societies. These laws are of two kinds. The 
fitst are properly called divine, because they are immediately 
enacted by God hsmself, and are contained in those sacred 
books, which carry the most striking marks of a divine origin. 
They consist of those doctrines that are the objects of faith 
and reason, and those precepts that are addressed to the heart 
and the affections. To the second kind belong those laws 
that are merely of humaBanstution^ and derive their authori- 
ty only from the injunctions of the rulers of the church. 

In that part of the sacred history which relates to the doc- 
trines of Christianity, it is necessary, above all things, to in- 
quire particularly into the degree of authority that has been 
attributed to the sacred writings in all the different periods of 
the church, and also into the manner in which the divine doc- 
trines they contain, have been explained and illustrated. — ■ 
For the true state of rcligian in every age can only be learned 
from the point of view in which these celestial oracles were 
considered, and from the manner in which they were expoun- 
ded to the people. As long as they were the only rule 
of faith, religion preserved its native purity; and in pro- 
portion as their decisions were either neglected or postponed 
to the inventions of men, it degenerated from*. its primitive 
and divine simplicity. It is farther necessary to show under 
this head, what was the fate of the pure laws and doctrines 
of Christianity ; how they were interpreted and explained; 
how they were defended against the enemies of the gospel ; 
how they were corrupted and adulterated by the ignorance 
and licentiousness of men. And, finally, it will be proper to 
inquire here,, how far the lives ami manners of Christians 
have been confor arable to the dictates of these sacred laws,, 
and the influence that these sublime doctrines ought to have 
upon the hearts of men; as also to examine the rules of dis- 
cipline prescribed by the spiritual governors of the church, in 
order to correct and restrain the vices and irregularities of 
its members. 

The human laws, that constitute a part of church gov- 






INTRODUCTION. 1 1 

ernment, consist in precepts concerning the external worship 
of the Deity, and in certain rites, either confirmed by custom 
or introduced by positive and express authority. Rites and 
Ceremonies regard religion' either directly or indirectly; by the 
former, we understand those that are used in the immediate 
worship of the Supreme Being, whether in public or in pri- 
vate ; by the latter, such pious and decent institutions as, be- 
side direct acts of worship have obtained in the church. 
This part of sacred history is of a vast extent, both on ac- 
count of the great diversity of these ceremonies, and the 
frequent changes and modifications through which they have 
passed. This consideration will justify our treating them 
with brevity, in a work which is only designed as a compen- 
dious view of Church History. 

.As bodies politic are sometimes distracted with wars and 
seditions, so has the Christian church, though designed to be 
the mansion of charity and concord, been unhappily perplex- 
ed by intestine divisions, occasioned sometimes by points of 
doctrine, at others by a variety of sentiments about certain 
rites and ceremonies. The principal authors of these divis- 
ions have been stigmatized with the title <tf k&retics, and their 
peculiar opinions of consequence distinguished by the appel- 
lation of heresies. The nature therefore and progress of 
these intestine divisions or heresies are to be carefully unfold- 
ed : and if this be done with judgment and impartiality,, it 
must prove useful and interesting in the highest degree, 
though at the same time it must be observed, that no branch of 
Church History is so painful and difficult, on account of the 
sagacity, candour, and application that it requires, in order 
to- its being treated in a satisfactory manner. The difficulty 
of arriving at the truth, in researches of this nature, is ex- 
treme, onaccount of the injurious treatment that has been shown 
to the heads of religious sects, and the unjjaiv represe-ntaUons 
that have been made of their tenets and opinions; and this 
difficulty has been considerably augmented by this particu- 
lar circumstance, that the greatest part of the writings of 
those who were branded with, the name of heretics have not 
iied our times, it is therefore the duty of a candid his- 
torian to avoid attaching to this term the invidious sense in 
which it is too often used, since it is the invective of all con- 
tending parties, and is employed against truth as frequently 
as against error. The wisest method here is to take the 
word heretic in its general signification, as denoting a person, 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

who, either directly or indirectly, has been the occasion of 
exciting divisions and dissensions among Christians. 

After thus considering what constitutes the matter of Church 
History, it will be proper to bestow a few thoughts on the 
manner of treating it, as this is a point of too much import- 
ance not to deserve a moment's attention. And here we 
may observe, that in order to render both the external and 
internal history of the church tru!y interesting and useful, it 
is absolutely necessary to trace effects to their causes, and to 
connect events with the circumstances, views, principles, and 
instruments that have contributed to their existence. A bare 
recital of facts can at best but enrich the memory, and furnish 
a certain degree of amusement; but the historian, who en- 
ters into the secret springs that direct the course of outward 
events, and views things in their various relations, connex- 
ions, and tendencies, gives thus a proper exercise to the judg- 
ment of the reader, and administers on many occasions, the 
most useful lessons of wisdom and prudence. It is true, a 
high degree of caution is to be observed here, lest, in disclos- 
ing the secret springs of public events, we substitute imagi- 
nary causes in the place of real, and attribute the actions of 
men to principles they never professed. 

In order to discover the secret causes of public events, 
some general succors are to be derived from the history of 
the times in which they happened, and the testimonies of the 
authors by whom they are recorded. But beside these, a 
considerable acquaintance with human nature, founded on 
long observation and experience, is singularly useful in re- 
searches of this kind. The historian, who has acquired a 
competent knowledge of the views that occupy the general- 
ity of men, who has studied a great variety of characters^ 
and attentively observed the force and violence of human 
passions, together with the infirmities and contradictions 
they produce in the conduct of life, will find, in this knowl- 
edge, a key to the secret reasons and motives which gave 
rise to many of the most important events of ancient times. 
A knowledge also of the manners and opinions of the per- 
sons concerned in the events that are related, will contribute 
much to lead us to the true origin of things. 

There are, however, beside these general views, particular 
considerations, which will assist us still further in tracing up 
to their true causes the various events of sacred history.— 
We must for example, in the external history of the churchy 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

attend carefully to two things; firsts ta the political state of 
those kingdoms and nations in which the christian religion 
has been embraced or rejected; and, secondly.; to their reli- 
gious state, i. e, the opinions they have entertained concern- 
ing the divine nature, and the worship that is to be addiessed 
to Bim. For we shall then perceive, with more certainty and 
less difficulty, the reasons of the different reception Christi- 
anity has met with in different nations when we are acquain- 
ted with the respective forms of civil government, the politi- 
tical maxims, and the public forms of religion that prevail- 
ed in those countries and in those periods of time in which 
the gospel received encouragement or met with opposition. 

With respect to the internal history of the church] nothing 
is more adapted to lay open to view the # hidden springs of 
its various changes, than an acquaintance with the history 
of learning eind philosophy in the tbms of old. For it is cer- 
tain, that human learning and philosophy have, in edl times, pre- 
tended to modify the doctrines of Christianity; and that those pre- 
tensions have extended further than belongs to the province of phi- 
losophy on the one hand, or is consistent with the purity and sim- 
plicity of the gospel on the other. It may also be observed, 
that a knowledge of the forms of civil government, and of 
the superstitious rites and institutions of ancient times, is 
not only useful, as we remarked above, to illustrate several 
things in the external history of the church, but also to render 
a satisfactory account of its internal variations, both in 
point of doctrine and worship. For the genius of human 
laws and the maxims of civil rulers have undoubtedly had 
a great influence in forming the constitution of the church ; 
and even its spiritual leaders have, in too many instances, 
from an ill judged prudence, modeled its discipline and 
worship after the ancient superstitions. 

We cannot be at any loss to know the sources from whence 
this important knowledge is to be derived. The best wri- 
ters of every age, who make mention of church affairs, and 
particularly those who were contemporary with the events 
they relate, are to be carefully consulted ; since it is from 
credible testimonies and respectable authorities that history 
derives a solid and permanent foundation. Our esteem for 
those writers, who may be considered as the sources ot 
historical knowledge, ought not however to lead us to treat 
with neglect the historians and annalists, who have already 
made use of those original records; since it betrays a fool- 



1 4 INTRODUCTION, 

ish sort of vanity to reject the advantages that may be de- 
rived from the succors and labors of those who have prece- 
ded us in their endeavors to cast light upon matters that 
have been for many ages covered with obscurity. 

From all this we shall easily discern the qualifications 
that are essential to a good writer of Church History. His 
knowledge of human affairs must be considerable, and his 
learning extensive. He must be endowed with a spirit of 
observation and sagacity; a habit of reasoning with evi- 
dence and facility; a faithful memory; and a judgment ma- 
tured by experience and strengthened by exercise. Such 
are the intellectual endowment* that are required in the 
character of a good historian ; and the moral qualities that 
are necessary to complete it, are a persevering and inflexi- 
ble attachment to truth and virtue, a freedom from the ser- 
vitude of prejudice and passion, and a laborious and patient 
turn of mind. 

Those who undertake to write the history of the christian 
church are exposed to receive a bias from three different 
sources, from times, persons, and opinions.. The times , in which 
we live, have often so great an influence, on our manner of 
judging, as to make us consider the events which happen 
in our days, as a rule by which w r e a,re to estimate the pro- 
bability or evidence of those that are recorded in the histo- 
ry of past ages. The persons, on whose testimonies we 
think w r e have reason to depend, acquire an imperceptible 
authority over our sentiments, that too frequently seduces us 
to adopt their errors, especially if these persons have been 
distinguished by eminent degrees of sanctity and virtue. — 
And an attachment to favorite opinions leads authors some- 
times to pervert, or at least to modify, facts in favor of those 
who have embraced these opinions, or to the disadvantage 
of such as have opposed them. These kinds of seduction 
are so much the more dangerous, as those whom they de- 
ceive are, in innumerable cases, insensible of their delusion, 
and of the false representations of things to which it leads 
them. It is not necessary to observe the solemn obligations 
that bind an historian to guard against these three sources 
of error with the most delicate circumspection, and the 
most scrupulous attention. 

It is well known nevertheless how far Church historians, 
in all ages, have departed from these rules, and from others 
of equal evidence and importance. For not to mention those 



INTRODUCTION. 1 5 

who lay claim to a high rank among writers of history in 
consequence of a happy memory, loaded with an ample 
heap of materials, nor those whose pens are rather guided 
by sordid views of interest than by a generous love of truth, 
it is but too evident, how few in number the unprejudiced 
and impartial historians are, whom neither the influence of 
the sect to which they belong, nor the venerable and impo- 
sing names of antiquity, nor the spirit of the times and the 
torrent of prevailing opinion, can turn aside from the obsti- 
nate pursuit of truth alone. In the present age, more espe- 
cially, the spirit of the times and the influence of predomi- 
nant opinions, have gained with many an incredible ascend- 
ant. Hence we find frequently in the writings even of 
learned men such wretched arguments as these: "Such an 
opinion is true ; therefore it must of necessity be adopted 
by the primitive christians. Christ has commanded us to 
live in such a manner; therefore it is undoubtedly certain, 
that the christians of ancient times lived so. A certain cus- 
tom does not take place now; therefore it did not prevail in 
former times. " 

If those who apply themselves to the composition of 
Church History be careful to avoid the sources of error 
mentioned above, their labors will be eminently useful to 
mankind, and more especially to those. who are called to 
the important office of instructing others in the sacred truths 
and duties of Christian^. The history of the church pre- 
sents to our view a variety of objects that are every way 
adapted to confirm our faith. When we contemplate here 
the discouraging obstacles, the united efforts of kingdoms 
and empires, and the dreadful calamities which Christianity, 
in its very infancy, was obliged to encounter, and over 
which it gained an immortal victory, this will be sufficient 
to fortify its true and zealous profesvsors against all the 
threats, cavils, and stratagems of profane and impious men. 
The great and shining examples also, which display their 
lustre, more or less, in every period of the christian history, 
must have an admirable tendency to inflame our piety, and 
to excite, even in the coldest and most insensible hearts, the 
love of God and virtue. Those amazing revolutions and 
events that distinguished every age of the church, and 
often seemed to arise from small beginnings, and causes 
of little consequence, proclaim, with a solemn and respect- 
able voice, the empire of Providence, and also the incon- 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

stancy and vanity of human things. And, among the many 
advantages that arise from the study of Church history, it is 
none of the least, that we shall see therein the origin and 
occasions of those ridiculous rites, absurd opinions, foolish 
superstitions, and pernicious errors, with which Christianity 
is yet disfigured in too many parts of the world. This know- 
ledge will naturally lead us to a view of the truth in its 
beautiful simplicity, will engage us to love it, and render 
us zealous in its defence ; not to mention the pleasure and 
satisfaction that we must feel in researches and discoveries 
of such an interesting kind. 

They, more especially, who are appointed to instruct 
the youth in the public universities, as also such as are 
set apart for the service of the church, will derive from 
this study the most useful lessons of wisdom and prudence, 
to direct them in the discharge of their respective offices. 
On the one hand, the inconsiderate zeal and temerity of 
others, and the pernicious consequences with which they 
have been attended, will teach circumspection; and in the 
mistakes into which even men of eminent merit and abili- 
ties have fallen, they will often see the things they are 
obliged to avoid, and the sacrifices it will be prudent to 
make, in order to maintain peace and concord in the church ; 
on the other, illustrious examples and salutary measures 
will hold forth to them a rule of conduct, a lamp to show 
them the paths they must pursue. It may be further ob- 
served, that, if we except the arms which scripture and rea- 
son furnish against superstition and error, there is nothing 
that will enable us to combat them with more efficacy than 
the view of their deplorable effects, as they are represent- 
ed to us in the history of the church. It would be endless 
to enumerate all the advantages that result from the study 
of Church History ; experience alone can display these in 
all their extent ; nor shall we mention the benefits that may 
be derived from it by those who have turned their views to 
other sciences than that of theology, and its more peculiar 
utility to such as are engaged in the study of the civil law. 
All this would lead us too far from our present design. 

As the history of the church is external or internal, so the 
manner of treating it must be suited to that division. As 
to the first, .when the narration is long, and the thread of 
the nistory runs through a great number of ages, it is proper 
to divide it into certain periods, which will give the reader 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

time to breathe, assist memory, and also introduce a certain 
method and order into the work. In the following history 
the usual division into centuries is adopted prefarably to all 
others, because most generally liked; though it be attended 
with difficulties and inconveniences. 

A considerable part of these inconveniences will be how- 
ever removed, if, beside this smaller division into centuries, 
we adopt a larger one, and divide the space of time tl 
elapsed between the birth of Christ and our days into cer- 
tain grand periods, that are distinguished by signal revolu- 
tions or remarkable event?. It is on this account that we 
have judged it expedient to comprehend the following 1 
tory in four books, that will take in four remarkable periods; 
the First will be employed in exhibiting the state and vicis- 
situdes of the christian church, from its commencement to 
the time of Constantine the Great. The Second will com- 
hend die period that extends from the reign of Constan- 
tine to that of Charlemagne, which produced such a re- 
rkable change in the face of Europe. The Third will 
contain the History of the Church, from the time of Charle- 
magne to the memorable period when Luther arose in Ger- 
many to oppose the tyranny of Rome, and j^o deliver divine 
truth from the darkness that covered it. And the Fourth 
will carry down the same history, from the rise of Luther 
to the present times. 

We have seen above, that the sphere of Church History is 

extensive, that it comprehends a great variety of objects, and 

em; political as well as religious matters, so for as the 

3 to the latter, either as causes or effects. 

But however great the diversity of these objects may be, 

they are cloself connected ; and it is the particular h 

of a church historian to observe a method that will show 

in the most point of view, and 

regular whole a variety of pg t seem 

and di; :. Different writers have 

ling to v of 

their vi tier of t . The 

ove in t 

ve ? to avoid 
ns. 



CHURCH HISTORY, 



BOOK THE FIRST; 
CONTAINING 

THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 

FROM 

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST 

TO 
CONST ANTINE THE GREAT. 



22 : EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

Roman people and their venerable Senate, though they had 
not lost all shadow of liberty, were yet, in reality, reduced 
to a state of servile submission to Augustus Cesar, who, by 
artifice, perfidy, and blood-shed, had proceeded to an enor- 
mous degree of power, and united in his own person the 
pompous titles of emperor, sovereign, pontiff, censor, tri- 
bune of the people, pro-consul; in a word, all the great of- 
fices of the state. 

The Roman government, considered Voth with respect to 
its form, and its laws, was certainly mild and equitable. But 
the injustice and avarice of the pretors and pro-consuls, 
and thje ambitious lust of conquest and dominion, which 
was the predominant passion of the Roman people, togeth- 
er with the rapacious proceedings of the publicans, by whom 
the taxes of the empire were levied, were the occasions of 
perpetual tumults and unsupportable grievances. And 
among the many evils that arose from thence we justly 
reckon the formidable armies, that were necessary to sup- 
port these extortions in the provinces, and the civil wars 
which frequently broke out between the oppressed nations 
and their haughty conquerors. 

It must at the same time be acknowledged, that this su- 
preme dominion of one people, or rather of one man, over 
so many, kingdoms, was attended with many considerable 
advantages to mankind in general, and to the propagation 
and advancement of Christianity in particular. For, by the 
means of this almost universal empire, many nations, differ- 
ent in' their language and in their manners, were- united 
more intimately together in social intercourse* Hence a 
passage was opened to the remotest countries, by the com- 
munications which the Romans formed between the con- 
quered provinces. Hence also the nations, whose manners: 
were savage and barbarous, were civilized by the law^s and 
commerce of the Romans. And by this, in* short, the be- 
nign influence of letters and philosophy was spread abroad 
in countries which had lain before under the darkest igno- 
rance. All this contributed, no doubtjin a singular man- 
ner, to facilitate the progress of the gospel, and to crown 
the labors of its first ministers and heralds with success. 

The Roman empire, at the birth of Christ, was less agi- 
tated by wars and tumults, than it had been for many years 
before. For, though I cannot assent to the opinion of those 
who, following the account of Orosius, maintain that tho 



STATE OF Tll-i WORLD. 23 

fc&mple of Janus was then shut, and that wars and discords ab- 
solutely ceased throughout the world : yet it is certain, that 
the period, in which our Saviour descended upon earth, nu y 
be justly styled the pacific age, if we compare it with the 
preceding times. And indeed, the tranquility, that then 
reigned, was necessary to enable the ministers of Christ, to 
execute, with success, their sublime commission to the hu- 
man race. 

The want of ancient records, renders it impossible to say 
anything satisfactory or certain, concerning the state of 
those nations, who did not receive the Roman yoke; nor in- 
deed is their history essential to our present purpose. It is 
sufficient to observe, with respect to them, that those who 
inhabited the eastern regions were strangers to the sweets 
of liberty, and groaned under the burden, of an oppressive- 
yoke. This, their softness and effeminacy, both in point; of 
manners and bodily constitution, contributed to make them 
support with an unmanly patience ; and even the religion 
they professed rivetted their chains. On the contrary, the 
northern nations enjoyed, in their frozen dwellings, the bles- 

s ot sacred freedom, which their government, their reli- 

:i. a robust and vigorous frame of body and spirit, deriv- 
ed from the inclemency and severity of the climate, all un- 
ited to preserve and maintain. 

Ail these nations lived in the practice of the most abom- 
inable superstitions. For though the notion of one Su- 
preme Being was not entirely effaced in the human mind, 
but showed itself frequently, even through the darkness of 
the gvo- latry ; yet all nations except that of the J< 

aowledged a number of governing powers, whom they 
called gods, and one or more of which they supposed to 
preside over each particular province or people. They 
worshipped these iictitious deities with various rites ; the'y 
considered them as widely different from each other in sex, 
and power, in their nature, and also in their respective of- 

s, and they appeased them by a multiplicity of ceremo- 
nies and oil rrings. in order to obtain heir protection and 
favor. So that, however different the, degrees of enormity 
might be, with which this absurd and impious theology ap- 
ed in different countries : yet there was no nation, whose 
s and whose religious worship did not discover a 
manifest abuse of reason, and. very striking marks of ex- 
uce and lolly. 



24 



EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 



Every nation then had its respective gods, over which pre- 
! one more excellent than the rest ; yet in such a manner, 
that this supreme deity was himself controlled by the rigid 
empire of the fates,or what the philosophers called eternal 
necessity, The gods of the east were different from those of 
the Gauls, the Germans, and the other northern nations. 
The Grecian divinities, differed widely from those of the 
ptians. who deified plants, animals, and a great variety 
of the productions both of nature and art. Each people 
also had their own particular manner of worshipping and 
appeasing their respective deities, entirely different from the 
iH ;es<3f other countries. In process of time, however, 
■Jreeks and Romans grew as ambitions in their religious 
tensions, as in their political claims. They maintained 
that tkeir gods, though lender different names, were the ob- 
jects of religious worship in all nations, and therefore they 
gave the names of their deities to those of ether countries'. 
This pretension, whether supported by ignorance or other 
means, introduced inexpressible darkness and perplexity into 
the history of the ancient superstitions, and has been also 
the occasion of innumerable errors in the waitings of the 
learned. 

One thing, indeed, which at first sight appears very remark- 
- , is, that this variety of religions and of gods neither produc- 
ed wars nor dissensions-among.the different nations, the Egyp- 
tlaris excepted. Nor is it, perhaps, necessary to except even 
i, since their wars undertaken for their gods cannot be 
:ed upon with propriety as wholly of a religions nature. 
Each nation suffered its neighbors to follow their own meth- 
od of worship, to adore their own gods, to enjoy their own 
rites and ceremonies, and discovered no sort of displeasure 
at their diversity of sentiments in religious matters. There 
is, however, little wonderful in this spirit of mutual tolera- 
tion, when we consider that they ail looked upon the world 
as one great empire, divided into various provinces, over ev- 
ery one of which a certain order of divinities presided; and 
that, therefore, none could behold with contempt the gods of 
ether nations, or force strangers to pay homage to theirs. 
The Romans exercised this toleration in the amplest manner. 
For. though they would not allow any changes to be made in 
the religions that were publicly professed in the empire, nor 
any new form of worship to be openly introduced ; yet they 
granted to their citizens a full liberty of observing, in private, 






STATS OF THE WORLD. 



the sacred rites of other nations, and of honoring foreign 
deities, whose- worship contained nothing inconsistent with 
the interests and laws of the republic, with feasts, temples, 
consecrated groves, and such like testimonies of homage and 
respect. 

The deities of almost all nations were either ancient he- 
roes, renowned for noble exploits and worthy deeds, or kings 
and generals who had founded empires, or women become 
illustrious by remarkable actions and useful inventions. The 
merit of these distinguished and eminent persons, contem- 
plated by their posterity with an enthusiastic gratitude, was 
the reason of their being exalted to celestial honors. The 
natural world furnished another kind of deities, that were 
added to these by some nations. And as the sun, moon, and 
stars shine forth with a lustre superior to that of all other 
material beings; so it is certain that they particularly attract- 
ed the attention of mankind, and received religious homage 
from almost all the nations of the world. From these beings 
of a nobler kind, idolatry descended into an enormous mul- 
tiplication of inferior powers; so that in many countries, 
mountains, trees, and rivers, the earth, the sea, and the winds, 
nay, even virtues, vices, and diseases had their shrines atten- 
ded by devout and zealous Worshippers.^ 

These deities were honored with rites and sacrifices of 
various kinds, according to their respective nature and of- 
fices. The rites used in their worship were absurd and ri- 
diculous, and frequently cruel and obscene. Most nations 
offered animals, and some proceeded to the enormity of hu- 
man sacrifices. -As to their prayers, they were void of piety 
and sense, both with respect to their matter and their form. 
Pontiffs, priests, and ministers, distributed into several classes, 
presided in this strange worship, and were appointed to pre- 
vent disorder in t! e performance of the sacred rites. This 
orcl -r, Which was supposed to be distinguished by an imme- 
diate intercourse and friendship with the gods, abused their 
authority in the basest manner, to deceive an ignorant and 
vfretched people. 

The religious worship we have, now been considering, was 
confined to stated times and places. • The statues and other 
representations of the Gods were placed in the temples, and 
supposed to be animated in an incomprehensible manner. — 
For the votaries of these fictitious deities, however destitute 
might be of reason in other respects, avoided carefully 



26 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH^ 

the imputation of worshipping inanimate beings, such as 
brass, wood, and stone, and therefore pretended that the di- 
vinity represented by the statue, was really present in it, if 
the dedication was duly and properly made. 

But, beside the public worship of the gods, t© which all 
without exception were admitted, there were certain religi- 
ous institutions and rites celebrated in secret by the Greeks 
and several eastern nations, to which a very small number 
were allowed access. These were commonly called myste- 
ries; and the persons w T ho desired to be initiated therein, were 
obliged previously to exhibit satisfactory proofs of their fi- 
delity and patience,- by passing through various trials and 
ceremonies of the most disagreeable kind. The secret of 
these institutions was kept in the strictest manner, as the in- 
itiated could not reveal any thing that passed in them with- 
out exposing their lives to the most imminent danger ; and 
that is the reason why, at this time, we are so little acquaint- 
ed with the true nature and the reaHdesign of these hidden 
rites. It is, however, well known, that, in some of those 
mysteries, many things- were transacted that were contrary 
both to real modest}" and outward decency. And indeed, 
from all the pagan rites, the intelligent few might easily 
learn, that the divinities generally worshipped, were rather 
men famous for their vices, than distinguished by virtuous 
and worthy deeds. 

It is at least certaixi, that this religion had not the least 
influence toward the exciting or nourishing solid and true 
virtue in the minds of men. For the gods and goddesses 
to whom public homage was paid, exhibited to their wor- 
shippers rather examples of ; egregious crimes, tlmn of use- 
ful and illustrious virtues. The gods, moreover, were es- 
teemed superior to men in power and immortality; but in 
every thing, else, they were considered as their equals. The 
priests were little solicitous to animate the people to a vir- 
tuous conduct, either by their precepts or by their example ; 
nay, they plainly enough declared, that ail-that was essen- 
tial to the true worship of the gods, was contained only in 
the rites and institutions which the people had received by 
tradition from their ancestors. And as to w r hat regarded 
the rewards of virtue, and the punishment of vice after 
this life, the general notions were partly uncertain, partly 
licentious, and often more proper to administer indulgence 
to vice, than encouragement to virtue. Hence the wiser- 



STATE OF THE WORLD. 2T 

part of mankind, about the time of Christ's birth, looked 
upon this whole system of religion as a just object of ridi- 
cule and contempt. 

The consequence of this wretched theology were a uni- 
versal corruption of manners; which discovered itself in 
the impunity of the most flagitious crimes. Juvenal and 
Persius among the Latins, and Lucian among the Greeks, 
bear testimony to the justice of this heavy accusation. It 
is also well known, that no public law prohibited the sports 
of gladiators, the exercise of unnatural lusts, the licentious- 
ness of divorce, the custom of exposing infants, and of pro- 
curing abortions, nor the frontless atrocity of consecrating 
publicly stews and brothels to certain divinities. 

Such as were not sunk in an unaccountable and brutish 
stupidity, perceived the deformity of these religious sytems. 
To these the crafty priests addressed two considerations, 
to prevent their incredulity, and to dispel their doubts. 
The first was drawn from the miracles and prodigies which 
they pretended were daily wrought in the temples, before 
the statues of the gods and the heroes that were placed 
there ; and the second was deduced from oracles and divi- 
nation, by which they maintained that the setrets of futu- 
rity were unfolded through the interposition of the gods,- 
In both these points the cunning of the priests imposed mis- 
erably upon the ignorance of the people; and if the dis- 
cerning few saw the cheat, they were* obliged, from a regard 
to their own safety, to laugh with caution, since the priests 
were even ready to accuse, before a raging and supersti- 
tious multitude, those who discovered their religious frauds, 
as rebels against the majesty of the immortal gods. 

At the time of Christ's appearance upon earth, the reli- 
gion of the Romans, as well as their arms, had extended 
itself through a great part of the world. This religion, 
must be known to those who are acquainted with the Gre- 
cian superstitions.- In some things, indeed, it differs from 
them; for the Romans, beside the institutions which Numa 
;uid others had invented with political views, added several ; 
ic and Hetrurian fictions to the Grecian fables, and gave 
also to Egyptian deities a place among their oavii. 

In the provinces subjected to the Roman government, 
there arose a new kind of religion, formed by a mixture of" 
the ancient rites of the conquered nations with those of the 
liomans. These nations who, before their subjection, had . 



.28 EXTERAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

their own gods, and their own particular religious institu- 
tions, were persuaded by degrees, to admit into their wor- 
ship a great number of the sacred rites and customs of their 
conquerors. The view of the Romans in this change, was 
not only to confirm their authority by the powerful aid of 
religion, but also to abolish the inhuman rites which were 
performed by many of the barbarous nations who had re- 
ceived their yoke ; and this change was effected partly by 
the prudence of the victors, partly by the levity of the van- 
quished, and by their ambition to please their new masters. 

When, from the sacred rites of the ancient Romans, we 
pass to a review of the other religions that prevailed in the 
world, we shall find, that the most remarkable may be 
properly divided into two classes, of wdiich the one will 
comprehend the religious systems which owe their exist- 
ence to political views ; and the other, those which seemed 
to have been formed for military purposes. In the former 
class may be ranked the religions of most of the eastern na- 
tions, especially of the Persians, Egyptians, and Indians, 
which appear to have been solely calculated lor the pre- 
servation of the state, the supporting of the royal authority 
and grandeur, the maintenance of public peace, and the ad- 
vancement of civil virtues. Under the military class may 
be comprehended the religious system of the northern na- 
tions; since all the traditions that we find among the Ger- 
mans, the Bretons, the Celts, and the Goths, concerning 
their divinities, have a manifest tendency to excite and 
nourish fortitude and ferocity, an insensibility of danger, 
and a contempt of life. An attentive inquiry into the reli- 
gions of these respective nations, will abundantly verify 
what is here asserted. 

None of these nations indeed, ever arrived at such an ac- 
cess of universal barbarity and ignorance, as not to have 
some, discern! ag men among them, who were sensible of 
the extr&vagaice of all these religions. But of these sa- 
gacious observers, some were destitute of the weight and 
authority that were necessary to remedy these overgrown 
evils; and others wanted the will .to exert themselves in 
such a glorious cause. And the truth is, none of them had 
wisdom equal to such a solemn paid arduous enterprise. 
This appears manifestly from the laborious, but useless ef- 
forts of some of the Greek and Roman philosophers against 
the vulgar superstitions. These venerable sages delivered 



STATE CF THE WORL+,'. 29 

in their writings, many sublime things concerning the na- 
ture of God, and the duties incumbent upon men ; they dis- 
puted with sagacity against the popular religion ; but to all 
this they added such chimerical notions, and such absurd 
subtilties of their own as may serve to convince us that it 
belongs to God alone, and not to man, to reveal the truth 
without any mixture of impurity €>r error. 

About the time of Christ s appearance upon earth, there 
were two kinds of philosophy which prevailed among the 
civilized nations. One was the philosophy of the Greeks, 
adopted also by the Romans ; and the other that of the ori- 
entals, which had a great number of votaries in Persia, Sy- 
ria, Chaldea, Egypt, and even among the Jews. The former 
was distinguished by the simple title of philosophy. The 
latter was honored with the more pompous appellation of 
science or knoicledge, since those who embraced this latter 
sect pretended to be the restorers of the knowledge of God, 
which was lost in the world. The followers of both these 
ems, in consequence of vehement disputes and dissen- 
sions about several points, subdivided themselves into a 
variety of sects. It is, however, to be observed, that all the 
sects of the oriental philosophy deduced their various tenets 
from one fundamental principle, which they held in com- 
mon ; whereas the Greeks were much divided even about 
the first principles of scienee. 

As v. r e shall have occasion hereafter to speak of the ori- 
ental philosophy, we shall confine ourselves here to the doc- 
trines taught by the Grecian sages, and shall give some ac- 
count of the various sects into which they were divided. 

Among the Grecian sects, there were some which declared 
openly against ail religion; and others who, though they 
acknowledged a deity, and admitted a religion, yet cast a 
cloud over the truth, instead of exhibiting it in its genuine 
beauty and lustre. 

Of the former kind were the epicureans and academics. 

The epicureans maintained, "that the world arose from 

chance ;Hiat the gods whose existence they did not dare to 

deny, neither did, nor could, extend their providential care 

to human affairs; that the soul was mortal, that pleasure 

"to be regarded as the ultimate end of man; and that 

as neither worthy of esteem nor choice, but with a 

ainment." The academic- ed the 

possibili . riving at truth, and held it uncertain, " 



30 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

er the gods existed or not ; whether the soul was mortal or 
immortal; whether virtue were preferable to vice, or vice 
to virtue." These two sects, though they struck at the 
foundations of all religion, were the most numerous of all 
others at the birth of Christ, and were particularly encour- 
aged by. the liberality of the rich and the protection of those 
in power. 

We observed in the preceding section, that there was an- 
other kind of philosophy, in which reiigion was admitted, 
but which was, at the same time, deficient by the obscurity 
it cast upon truth. Under the philosophers of this class, 
may be reckoned the platojiists, the stoics, and the follow- 
ers of Aristotle, whose subtile disputations concerning God, 
religion, and the social duties, were of little solid use to 
mankind. The nature of God, as it is explained by Aristo- 
tle, is something like the principle that gives motion to a 
machine; it is a nature happy in the contemplation of it- 
self; and qntirely regardless of human affairs ; and such a 
divinity, who differs but little from the god of Epicurus, can- 
not reasonably be the object either of love or fear. With 
respect to the doctrine of this philosopher concerning the 
human soul, it is uncertain, to say no more, whether he be- 
lieved its immortality or not. What; then could be expect- 
ed from such a philosophy ? could any thing solid and sat- 
isfactory in favor of piety and virtue, be hoped for frorp 
a system which excludedfrom the universe a divine Provi- 
dence, and insinuated the mortality, of the human soul? 

The god, of the stoics has somewhat more majesty, than 
the divinity of Aristotle; nor is he. represented by those 
philosophers as sitting above the starry heavens in a supine 
indolence, and a perfect inattention to the affairs of the 
universe. Yet he is described as a corporeal being, unitqd 
to matter by necessary connexion,, and subject to the deter- 
mination of an immutable fate so that neither rewards nor 
punishments can properly proceed from him. The learned 
also know that, in the philosophy of this sect, the existence 
of the soul w'as confined to a certain period of time. Now 
it is manifest, that these tenets remove, at once, the strong- 
est motives to virtue, and the most powerful restraints up- 
on vice ; and, therefore the stoical system may be considered 
as a body of specious and pompous doctrine, but, at the sajne 
time, as a body without nerves, or &ny principles of consist- 



STATE OF THE WORtD. -31 

Plato is r generally looked upon. as superior to ull the oth- 
• er philosophers in wisdom ; and this eminent rank does not 
seem to have been undeservedly conferred upon him. He 
taught that the universe was governed by a being, glorious 
in power and wisdom, and possessed of a perfect liberty and 
independence. He extended also the views of mortals be- 
yond the grave, and showed them, in futurity, prospects 
adapted to excite their hopes, and to work upon their fears. 
His doctrine, however, beside .the weakness of the founda- 
tions on which it rests, and the obscurity with which it is 
often expressed, has likewise many other considerable de- 
fects. It represents the Supreme Creator of the world y . as 
destitute of many perfections, and confined to a certain de- 
terminate portion of space. Its decisions, with respect to 
the soul, and demons, are too much adapted to beget and 
nourish superstition. Nor will the moral philosophy of 
Plato appear worthy of such a high degree of admiration, if 
we attentively examine and compare together its various 
parts and reduce them to their principles. 

As then, in these different sects, there were many things 
maintained that were highly unreasonable and absurd; and 
as a contentious spirit of opposition and dispute prevailed 
among them all ; certain men of true discernment, and of 
moderate characters, were of opinion, that none of these 
sects were to be adhered to in all matters, but that it was 
rather wise to choose and extract out of each of them such 
tenets and doctrines as were good and reasonable, and to 
abandon and reject the rest. This gave rise to a new form 
of philosophy iz Egypt, and principally at Alexandria, .which 
was called the eclectic, whose founder .according to some, 
was Potamon, an Alexandrian, though this opinion is not 
without its difficulties. It appears manifestly from the testi- 
mony of Philo, the Jew, who was himself one of this sect, 
that this philosophy was in a flourishing state at Alexandria, 
when oar Saviour was upon the earth. The eclecticsheid 
Plato in the highest esteem, though they made no scruple to 
join with his doctrines, whatever they thought conformable 
to reason in the tenets and opinions of the other philosophers. 

The attentive reader will easily conclude, from the short 
view that we have here given of the miserable state of the 
world at the birth of Christ, that mankind, in this period of 
darkness and corruption, stood highly in need of some divine 
teacher to convey to the mind true and certain principles of re- 



~&Z EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

ligion and wisdom, and to recall wandering mortals to the 
sublime paths <of piety and virtue. The consideration of 
this wretched condition of mankind will be also singularly 
useful to those who are not sufficiently acquainted with the 
advantages, the comforts, and the support, which the sub- 
lime doctrines of Christianity are so proper to administer * 
in every state, relarion, and circumstance of life. A set of 
miserable and unthinking creatures treat with negligence, 
nay sometimes with contempt, ihe religion of Jesus, not con- 
sidering that they are indebted to it for ail the good things 
which they so ungratefully enjoy. 



CHAPTER II. 

^CONCERNING THE CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS STAf E OF TEE JEWISH NATION 
AT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. 

'The Jews under Herod the Great— Their state after his deaths— Their calamities 
increased by their priests and rulers — Their religion much corrupted among 
the people and their teachers— Their great sects eiivii'ed on various points — 
But exercised mutual forbearance with each other — The Essenes- — The Tht- 
rnpeutae— The moral doctrine of these seetb-*Tbe state of the multitude-The 
Cabbala, a source of error among the Jews — Divine worship corrupted by vain 
rites and human inventions-— The, causes of corruption among th< Jews — Yet 
some remains of piety — The Samaritans — The Jews out of Palestine. 

The state of the Jews was not much better than that of 
the other nations at the time of Christ's appearance in the 
world. They were governed by Herod, who was himself a 
tributary to the Roman people. This prince was surnamed 
the Great, surely irom no other circumstance than the great- 
ness of his vices, and his government was a yoke of the most 
vexatious and oppressive kind. By- a cruel, suspicious and 
overbearing temper, he drew upon himself the aversion of all, . 
not excepting those who lived upon his bounty. By a mad 
luxury and an affectation of magnificence far above his for- 
tune, together with the most profuse and immoderate larges- 
ses, he exhausted the treasures of that miserable nation. 
Under his administration, and by his means, the Roman lux- 
ury was received in Palestine, accompanied with the worst 
vices ol that licentious people. In a word, Judea, governed 
by Eerod, groaned under all that corruption, which might 



STATE OF THE JEWS. 38 

be expected from the authority and example of a prince, 
who, though a Jew in outward profession, was, in point of 
morals and practice, a contemner of all laws human and 
divine. 

After the death of this tyrant, the Romans divided the gov- 
ernment of Palestine between his sons. In this division the 
one half of Judea was given to Archelaus, with the title of 
exarch ; and the other was divided between his two brothers, 
Antipas and Philip. Archelaus was a corrupt and wicked 
prince, and followed the example of hrs father's crimes in 
such a manner, that the Jews, grown weary of his iniquitous 
administration, laid their complaints and grievances before 
Augustus, who delivered them from their oppressor, by ban- 
ishing him from his dominions about ten years after the death 
of Herod the Great. The kingdom of this dethroned prince 
was reduced to the form of a province, and added to the ju- 
risdiction of the governor of Syria, to the great detriment of 
the Jews, whose heaviest calamities were owing to this change 
and wliose final destruction was its undoubted effect in the 
appointment of Providence. 

However severe the authority was, which the Romans ex- 
ercised over the Jews, yet it did not extend to the entire sup- 
pression of all their civil and religious privileges. The Jews 
were, in some measure, governed by their own laws, and 
rwere permitted the enjoyment of the religion they had 
received from the glorious founder of their church and state. 
The lion of religious ceremonies was commit? 

as before, to the highpriest, and to the sanhedrim ; to the for- 
mer of whom the order of the priests and levites was in the 
usual subordination ; and the form of outward worship, ex- 
cept in a very few points, had suffered no visible change. — 
But, on the other hand, it is impossible to express the inquie- 
tude and disgust, the calamities and vexations, which this 
unhappy nation suffered from the presence of the Romans, 
whom their religion obliged them to look upon as a polluted 
and idolatrous people, and in a more particular manner, from 
the avarice and cruelty of the pretors, and the frauds, and 
extortions of the publicans. So that all things considered, 
their condition, who lived under the government of the other 
sons of Herod, was much more supportable than the state 
of those, who Were immediately subject to the Roman juris- 
diction. 

Ft was not, however, from the Romans alone, that the ca- 
c 



34 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

lamities of this miserable people proceeded. Their own ru- 
lers multiplied their vexations, and hindered them from enjoy- 
ing any little comforts that were left to them by the Roman 
magistrates. The leaders of the people, and the chief priests, 
were, according to the account of Josephus, profligate wretch- 
es who had purchased their places by bribes, or by acts of in- 
iquity, and who maintained their ill acquired authority by 
the most flagitious and abominable crimes. The subordinate 
and inferior members were infected with the corruption of 
the head ; the priestr, and those who possessed aey shadow 
of authority, werg become dissolute and abandoned to the 
highest degree; while the multitude, set on by these corrupt 
examples, ran headlong into every sort of iniquity, and by 
their endless seditions, robberies, and extortions, arrn^d a- 
gainst them both the justice of God, and the vengeance of 
men. 

Two religions flourished at this time in Palestine, viz. the 
Jewish and the Samaritan, whose respective followers bf held 
those of the opposite sect with the utmost aversion. The 
Jewish religion stands exposed to our view in the bo@ks of 
the Old Testament ; but at the time of Christ's appearance, 
it had lost much of its original nature, and of its primitive 
aspect. Errors of a very pernicious kind had infected the 
whole body of the people, and the more learned part of the 
nation w T ere divided upon points of the highest consequence. 
All looked for a deliverer, but not for such a on® as God had 
promised. Instead of a mee;k and spiritual Savior, they 
expected a formidable and warlike prince, to break off their 
chains, and set them at liberty from the Roman yoke. AH 
regarded the whole of religion, as consisting in the rites ap- 
pointed by Moses, and in the performance of some external 
acts of duty toward the Gentiles. They were all horribly 
unanimous in excluding from the hopes of eternal life all the 
other nations of the world; and, as a consequence of this 
odious system, they treated them with the utmost rigour and 
inhumanity, when .any occasion was offered them. And be- 
side, these corrupt and vicious principles, there prevailed a- 
mong them several absurd and superstitious notions concern- 
ing the divine nature, invisible powers, magic, &c. which 
they had partly brought with them from the Babylonian cap- 
tivity, and partly derived from the Egyptians, Syrians, and 
Arabians, who lived in their neighborhood. 

Religion had not a better fate among the learned than a- 



STATE OF THE JEWS. 35 

mong the multitude. The supercilious teachers, who vaunted 
their profound knowledge of the law, and their deep science 
in spiritual and divine things, were constantly showing their 
fallibilli.ty and their ignorance by their religious differences, 
.and were divided into a great variety of sects. Of these 
sects three have, in a great measure, eclipsed the rest, both by 
the number of their adherents, and also by the weight and 
authority which the}' acquired. These were the Pharisees 
and the Sadducees, and the Essen es. There is frequent men- 
tion made of the two former in the sacred writings ; but the 
knowledge of the rites and doctrines of the latter is to be de- 
rived from Josephus, Philo, and other historians. These three 
illustrious sects agreed in the fundamental principles of the 
Jewish religion, while at the same time, they were involved 
in endless disputes upon points of the highest importa;nce 5 
and about matters in which the salvation of mankind was di- 
rectly concerned ; and their controversies could not but be 
highly detrimental to the rude and illiterate multitude, as ev- 
ery one must easily perceive. 

It may not be i naproper to mention here some of the prin- 
cipal matters that were debated among these famous sects. 
One of the main points of controversy was ; whether the 
written law ahiie was of divine authority. The Pharisees ad- 
ded to this law another, which had been received by oral tra- 
dition. This the Sadducees and Essenes rejected as of no 
authority, and adhered to the written law as the only divine 
rule of obedience. They differed also in their opinions con- 
cerning the true sense of the law. For, w T hile the Pharisees 
attributed to the sacred text a double sense, one of which 
was obvious, regarding only the words, and another myste- 
rious, relating to the intimate nature of the things express- 
ed; and while the Sadducees maintained that nothing fur- 
ther was delivered by the law, than that which was contain- 
ed in the signification of the words; the Essenes, at least 
the greatest part of that sect, entertained an opinion differ- 
ent from both of these. They asserted, in their jargon, that 
the word.£ of the law were absolutely void of all power, 
and that the things expressed by them, were the images of 

y and celestial objects. These litigious subtilities and 
unintelligible wranglings, about the nature and sense of the 
divine word, were succeeded by a controversy of the great- 
est moment, concerning the rewards and punishments of the 
law, particularly with respect to their extent. The PharS- 



36 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CI&JRCH. 

sees were of opinion, that these rewards and punishments 
extended both to the soul and body, and that their duration 
was prolonged beyond the limits of transitory state. The 
Saddueees assigned to them the same period that concludes 
this mortal life. The Essenes differed from both; and main- 
tained that future rewards arid punishments extended to the 
soul alone, and not to the body, which they considered as a mass- 
of malignant matter, and as the prison of the immortal spirit, 

These differences, in matters of such vast consequence, be- 
tween the three famous sects above mentioned, produced none 
of those injurious and malignant effects, which are too often 
seen to arise from religious controversies. But such as have 
any acquaintance with the history of these times, will not 
be so far deceived by this specious appearance of modera- 
tion, as to attribute it to noble or generous principles. 
They will look through the fair outside, and see that their 
mutual fears of each other were the latent reason of this 
apparent charity and. mutual forbearance. The Saddueees 
enjoyed the favor and protection of the great. The Phari- 
sees, on the other hand, were extremely high in the esteem 
of the multitude. And hence they were both secured 
against the attempts of each other, and lived in peace, not- 
withstanding the diversity of their religious sentiments. — 
The government of the Romans contributed also to the 
maintenance of this mutual toleration and tranquility, as 
they were ever ready to suppress and punish whatever had 
the appearance of tumult and sedition. We may add to all 
this, that the Sadducean principles rendered that sect natural- 
ly averse to all sorts of altercation and tumult. Libertinism 
has for its objects ease and pleasure, and chooses rather to 
slumber in the arms of a fallacious security, than to expos*-- 
itself to the pai&ful activity, which is required both in the 
search and in the defence of truth. 

The Essenes had little occasion to quarrel with the other 
sects, as they dwelt generally in. a rural solitude, far re- 
moved from the view and commerce of men. This singu- 
lar sect, which was spread abroad through Syria, Egypt, 
and the neighboring countries, maintained, that religion 
consisted wholly in contemplation audi silence. By a rig- 
orous abstinence also, and a variety of penitential exercises 
and mortifications, which they seem to have borrowed from 
the Egyptians, they endeavored to arrive at still higher de- 
grees of perfection in virtue. There prevailed, however. 



STATE OF THE JEWS.. ;S7 

among* the members of this sect, a considerable difference 
both in point of opinion and discipline. Some passed their 
lives in a state of celibacy, and employed their time in ed- 
ucating and instructing the children of others. Others em- 
braced* the state of matrimony, which they considered as 
lawful, when entered into with the sole design of propaga- 
ting the species, and not to satisfy the demands of lust. 
Those of the Essenes who dwelt in Syria, held the possibil- 
ity of appeasing the Deity by sacrifices, though in a man- 
ner quite different from that of the Jews ; by which, howev- 
er, it appears that they had not utterly rejected the literal 
sense of the Mosaic law. But those who wandered in the 
deserts of Egypt were of very different sentiments; they 
maintained, that no offering was acceptable to God but that 
of a serene and composed mind, addicted to the contem- 
plation of divine things; and it is manifest from hence, that 
they looked upon the law of Moses as an allegorical sys- 
tem of spiritual and mysterious truths, and renounced in its 
explication ail regard to the outward letter. 

The Therapeutae, of whom Philo the Jew makes partic- 
ular mention in his treatise concerning contemplative life, are 
supposed to have been a branch of this sect. From this 
notion arose the division of the Essenes into tlieorciical and 
practical. The former of these were wholly devoted to con- 
templation, and are the same with the Therapeutae ; while 
the latter employed apart of their time in the performance 
fof the duties of active life. Whether this division be accu- 
rate or not, is a matter which I will not take upon me to 
determine. But I see nothing in the laws or manners of 
the Therapeutae, that should lead us to consider them as a. 
branch of the Essenes; nor indeed has Philo asserted any 
,such thing. There may have been, surely, many other fa- 
natical tribes among the Jews, beside that of the Essenes; 
nor should a resemblance of principles always induce us to 
ke a coalition of sects. It is however, certain, that the 

rapeutse were neither christians nor Egyptians, as some 
have erroneously imagined. They were undoubtedly Jews ; 
nay, they gloried in that title, and styled themselves, with 

icular affectation, the true disciples of Moses, though 
•their manner of life was equally repugnant to the institu- 
tions of that great lawgiver and to the dictates of right rea- 
son, and showed them to be a tribe of melancholy .and 
wrought aded enthusiasts. 



38 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

None of these sects, indeed, seemed to have the interests 
of real and true piety at heart ; nor were their principles 
and discipline at all adapted to the advancement of pure 
and substantial virtue. The Pharisees courted popular ap- 
plause by a vain ostentation of pretended sanctity, *and an 
austere method of living while in reality, they were stran- 
gers to true holiness, and were inwardly defiled with the 
most criminal dispositions, with which our Savior frequent- 
ly reproaches them. They also treated with more venera- 
tion the commandments and tradition of men, than the sa- 
cred precepts and laws of God. The Sadducees, by deny- 
ing a future state of rewards and punishments- removed, at 
once, the most powerful incentives to virtue, and the most 
effectual restraints upon vice, and thus gave new vigor to 
every sinful passion, and a full encouragement to the indul- 
gence of every irregular desire, As to the Essenes, they 
were a fanatical and superstitious tribe, who placed reli- 
gion in a certain sort of seraphic indolence, and, looking 
upon piety to God as incompatible with any social attach- 
ment to men, dissolved, by this pernicious doctrine, all the 
great bonds of hiaman society. 

While then such darkness, such errors and dissensions 
prevailed among those, who assumed the character and au- 
thority of persons distinguished by their superior sanctity 
and wisdom, it will not be difficult to imagine, how totally 
corrupt the religion and morals of the multitude must have 
been. They were, accordingly, sunk in the most deplorable^ 
ignorance of God, and of divine things ; and had no notion 
of any other way of rendering themselves acceptable to 
the Supreme Being, than by sacrifices, washings, and the 
other external rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law, 
Hence proceeded that dissolution of manners, and that pro- 
fligate wickedness, which prevailed among the Jews, du- 
ring Christ's ministry upon earth. And heRce the Divine 
Savior compares that people to a flock of slleep, which 
wandered without a shepherd; and their teachers to men r 
who, though deprived themselves of sight, yet pretended 
to show the w 7 ay to others. 

To all these corruptions, both in point of doctrine and 
practice, which reigned among the Jews at the time of 
Christ's coming, we may add the attachment which many 
of them discovered to the tenets of the oriental philosophy 
concerning the origin of the world, and to the doctrine of 



STATE OF THE JEWS. 39 

Cabbala, which was undoubtedly derived from thence. 
That considerable numbers of the Jews imbibed the errors 
of this fantastic system, appears evidently, both from the 
books of the New Testament, and from the ancient history 
the christian church ; and it is also certain, that many of 
the gnostic sects were founded by Jews. Those among 
that degenerate people, who adopted this chimerical phi- 
losophy, must have differed vastly from the rest in their 
opinions concerning the God of the Old Testament, the or- 
igin of the world, the character and doctrine of Mioses, and 
the nature and ministry of the Messiah; since they main- 
tained, that the creator of this world was a being different 
from the Supreme God, and that his dominion over the hu- 
man race was to be destroyed by the Messiah. Every one 
must see that this enormous system was fruitful of errors, 
destructive of the very foundation of Judaism. 

If any part of the Jewish religion was less disfigured and 
corrupted than the rest, it was certainly the form of external 
worship which was established by the law of Moses. And 
yet many learned men have observed, that a great variety 
of rites were introduced into, the service of the temple, of 
which no traces are to be founfi. in the sacred Writings. The 
institution of these, additional ceremonies was manifestly 
owing to those changes and revolutions, which rendered 
the Jews more conversant with? the nations round about 
.1, than they had formerly been. For when they saw 
the sacred rites of the Greeks and Romans, they were taken 
with several of the ceremonies that were used in the wor- 
ship of the heathen deities, and did not hesitate to adopt 
them in the service of the true God, and add them as an 
ornament to the rites which they had received by divine ap- 
pointment. 

But whence such enormous degrees of corruption in that 
very nation winch God had, in a peculiar manner, separa- 
ted from an idolatrous world to be the depositary of divine 
th? Various causes may be assigned, in order to give a 
lory account of this matter. First, it is certain, that 
the ancestors of those Jews, who lived in the time of our 
Savior, had brought from Chaldea, and the neighboring 
countries, many extravagant and idle fancies, which were 
utterly unknown to the original founders of the nation. — 
The conquest of Asia, by Alexander the Great, was also an 
i which we may date a new accession of errors 



40 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

to the Jewish system; since, in .consequence of that revo- 
lution, the manners and opinions of the Greeks began to 
spread themselves among the Persians, Syrians, Arabians, 
and likewise among the Jews, who, before that period, were 
entirely unacquainted with letters and philosophy. We 
may further rank among the causes that contributed to cor- 
rupt the religion and manners of the Jews, their voyages 
into the adjacent countries, especially Egypt and Phenicia, 
in pursuit of wealth. For with the treasures of these cor- 
rupt and superstitious nations, they brought home also their 
pernicious errors, and their idle fictions, which were imper- 
ceptibly blended with their religious system. Nor ought 
we to omit, in this enumeration, the pestilential influence 
of the wicked reigns of Herod and his sons, and the enor- 
mous instances of idolatry, -error and licentiousness, which 
this unhappy people h^d constantly before their eyes in the 
religion and manners of the Roman Governors and soldiers, 
which no doubt contributed much to the progress of their 
national superstition and corruption of manners. We 
might add here many more facts and circumstances, to illus- 
trate further the matter under consideration; but these will 
be readily suggested to such a*s have the least acquaintance 
with the Jewish history from the time of the Maccabees. 

It is indeed worthy of observation, that corrupted as the 
Jew^s were with the errors and superstition of the neighbor- 
ing nations, they still preserved a zealous attachment to 
the law of Moses, and were extremely careful that it should 
not suffer any diminution of its credit or lose any the least 
degree of that veneration, that was due to its divine author- 
it}'. Hence synagogues were erected throughout the pro- 
vince of Judea, in which the people assembled for the pur- 
poses of divine worship, and to hear their teachers inter- 
pret and explain the hoi}' scriptures. There were, beside, 
in the more populous towns, public schools, in which learned 
men were appointed to instruct the youth in the knowledge 
of divine things, and also in other branches of science. 
And it is beyond all doubt, that these institutions contribu- 
ted to maintain the laws in its primitive authority, and to 
stem the torrent of abounding iniquity. 

The Samaritans, who celebrated divine worship iii the 
temple that was built on mount Gerizim, lay under the 
burden of the same evils that oppressed the Jews, with 
wham they lived in the bitterest enmity, and were also, 



STATE OF THE JEWS. 41 

like them, highly instrumental in increasing their own ca- 
lamities. We learn from the most authentic histories of 
those times, that the Samaritans suffered as much as the 
Jews, from troubles and divisions fomented by the intrigues 
of factious spirits, though their religious sects were yet less 
numerous than those of the latter. Their religion, also, 
was much more corrupted than that of the Jews, as Christ 
himself declares in his conversation with the woman of 
Samaria; though it appears, at the same time, that their 
notions concerning the offices and ministry of the Messiah, 
were, much more just and conformable to truth, than those 
which were entertained at Jerusalem. Upon the whole it 
is certain, that the Samaritans mixed the profane errors of 
the Gentiles, with the sacred doctrines of the Jews, and 
were excessively corrupted by the idolatrous customs oi the 
pagan nations. 

The Jews multiplied so prodigiously, that the narrow 
bounds of Palestine were no longer sufficient to contain 
them. They poured, therefore, their increasing numbers into 
the neighboring countries, and that with such rapidity, that, 
at the time of Christ's birth, there was scarcely a province 
in the empire, where they were not found carrying on com- 
merce, and exercising other lucrative arts. They were 
maintained in foreign countries, against injurious treatment 
and violence by the special edicts and protection of the ma- 
gistrates ; and this, indeed, was absolutely necessary, since 
in most places, the remarkable difference of their religion 
and manners, from those of the other nations, exposed them 
to the hatred and indignation of the ignorant and bigotted 
multitude. All this appears to have been most singularly 
and wisely directed by the adorable hand of an interposing* 
Providence, to the end that this people, which was the 
sole depositary of the true religion, and of the knowledge 
of one Supreme God, being spread abroad through the 
whole earth, might be every where, by their example, a re- 
proach to superstition, contribute in some measure to check 
it, and thus prepare the way for that yet fuller discovery of 
divine truth, which was to shine upon the world from JEke 
ministry and gospel of the Son of God. 



42 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 



CHAPTER III. 



CONCERNING THE LIFE AND ACTIONS OF JESUS CHRIST.- 

The birth of Christ — His infancy and youth — John the Baptist — The Life of" 
Christ — Election of his Apostles — Why twelve and seventy Disciples — The 
fame of Christ abroad — Mis ministry — His death and resurrection. 

The errors and disorders that we have now been consider- 
ing, required something far above human wisdom and power 
to dispel and remove them, and to- deliver mankind from the 
miserable state to which they were reduced by them. There- 
fore, toward the conclusion of the reign of Herod the Great, 
the Son of God descended upon earth, and, taking upon him 
the human nature, appeared to men under the sublime char- 
acters of an infallible teacher, an all-sufficient mediator, and 
a spiritual and immortal king. The place of his birth was 
Bethlehem, in the land of Palestine. The year in which it 
happened, has not hitherto been fixed with certainty, not- 
withstanding the deep and laborious researches of the learn- 
ed on that matter. There is nothing surprising in this, when 
we consider that the first Christians labored under the same 
difficulties, and were divided in their opinions, concerning 
the time of Christ's birth. That which appears most prob- 
able, is, that it happened about a year and six months before 
the death of Herod, in the year of Rome 748 or 749. The 
uncertainty, however, of this point is of no sort of conse- 
quence. We know that the Sun of Righteousness has shone 
upon the world. And, though we cannot fix the precise pe- 
riod in which he arose, this will not hinder us from enjoying 
the direction and influence of his vital and salutary beams. 

Four inspired writers, who have transmitted to us an ac- 
count of the life and actions of Jesus Christ, mention par- 
ticularly his birth, his lineage, his family, and his parents ; 
hut they say very little concerning his infancy and his ear- 
lier youth. Not long after his birth, he was conducted- by 
his parents into Egypt, that he might be there out of the 
reach of Herod's cruelty. When he was but twelve years 
old, he disputed, in the temple, with the most learned teach- 
ers, concerning the sublime truths of religion. And the rest 
of his life, until the thirtieth year of his age, was spent in 
the obscurity of a private condition, and consecrated to the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 43 

duties of filial obedience. This is all that the wisdom of 
God has permitted us to know, with certainty, of Christ, be- 
fore he entered upon his public ministry; nor is the story of 
his having followed the trade of his adopted father Joseph 
built upon any sure foundation. There have been, indeed, 
several writers, who either through the levity of a wanton 
imagination, or with a design to attract the admiration of 
the multitude, have invented a series of the most extrava- 
gant and ridiculous fables, in order to give an account of tliis 
obscure part of the Saviour's life. 

Jesus began his public ministry in the thirtieth year of his 
age ; and to render it more solemn and affecting to the Jews, 
a man, whose name was John, the Son of a Jewish priest, a 
person of great gravity also, and much respected on account 
of the austere dignity of his life and manners, was comman- 
ded by God to proclaim to the people the coming of the Mes- 
siah, that had been promised to their fathers. This extraor- 
dinary man called himself the forerunner of the Messiah. 
Filled with a holy zeal and a divine fervor, he cried aloud to 
the Jewish nation to depart from their transgressions, and to 
purify their hearts, that they might thus partake of the bles- 
sings, which the Son of God was now come to offer to the 
world. The exhortations of this respectable messenger were 
not without effect; and those who, moved by his solemn ad- 
monitions, had formed the resolution of correcting their evil 
dispositions and amending their lives, were initiated into the 
kingdom of the Redeemer by the ceremony of immersion- or 
baptism. Christ himself, before he began his ministry, desir- 
ed to be solemnly baptised by John, in the waters of Jordan, 
that he might not, in any point, neglect to answer the de- 
mands of the Jewish law. 

It is not necessary to enter here into a particular detail of 
the life and actions of Jesus Christ. All Christians must be> 
perfectly well acquainted with them. They must know, that 
during the space of three years, and amid the deepest trials 
of affliction and distress, he instructed the Jewish nation in 
Che will and counsels of the Most High, and omitted nothing 
In the course of his ministry, that could contribute either I I 
gain the multitude, or to charm the wise. Every one knows, 
that his life was a continued scene of the most perfect sanc- 
tity, and the purest and most active virtue : not only without 
spot, but also beyond the reach of suspicion. And it is also 
well known, that by miracles of the most stupendous kind, 



44 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

and not more stupendous than salutary ,and beneficent, he 
displayed to the universe the truth of that religion which he 
brought with him from above, and demonstrated the reality 
of his divine commission in the most illustrious manner. 

As this divine religion was to be propogated to the utmost 
ends of the earth, it was necessary that Christ should choose 
a certain number of persons, to accompany him constantly 
through the whole course of his ministry ; that thus they 
might be faithful and respectable witnesses of the sanctity of 
his life, and the grandeur of his miracles, to the remotest na- 
tions ; and also transmit to the latest posterity a genuine ac- 
count of his sublime doctrines, and of the nature and end of 
the gospel dispensation. Therefore Jesus chose, out of the 
multitude that attended his discourses, twelve persons, whom 
he separated from the rest by the name of Apostles. These 
men were illiterate, poor, and of mean extraction, and such 
alone were truly proper to answer the views of the divine 
Saviour. He avoided making use of the ministry of persons 
endowed with the advantages of fortune and birth, or enrich- 
ed with the treasures of eloquence and learning, lest the fruits 
of this embassy, and the progress of the gospel, should be at- 
tributed to human and natural causes. These Apostles were 
sent but once to preach to the Jews during the life of Christ. 
He chose to keep them about his own person, that they might 
be thoroughly instructed in the affairs of his kingdom. That 
the multitude, however, might not be destitute of teachers 
to enlighten them with the knowledge of the truth, Christ 
appointed seventy disciples to preach the glad tidings of life 
eternal throughout the whole province of Judea. 

The researches of the learned have been employed to find 
out the reason of Christ's fixing the number of the apostles 
•to twelve, and that of the disciples to seventy; and various 
conjectures have been applied to the solution of this ques- 
tion. But since it is manifest from the words of our Saviour 
himself, that he intended the number of the twelve apostles 
as an allusion to that of the tribes of Israel; it can scarcely 
be doubted, that he was willing to insinuate by this appoint- 
ment, that he was the supreme lord and high priest of these 
twelve tribes, into which the Jewish nation was divided. 
And as the number of disciples answers evidently to that of 
the senators, of whom the counsel of the people, or the sanhed- 
rim, was composed, there is a high degree of probability in 
the conjecture of those, who think that Christ, by the choice 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 45 

of the seventy* designed to admonish the Jews that the au- 
thority of their sanhedrim was now at an end, and that all 
power, with respect to religious matters, was vested in him 
alone. 

The ministry of the divine Saviour was confined to the 
Jews ; nor while he remained upon earth did he permit his 
apostles or disciples to extend their labors beyond this distin- 
guished nation. At the same time if we consider the illus- 
trious acts of mercy and omnipotence, that were performed 
by Christ, it will be natural to conclude, that his fame must 
have been very soon spread aJbroadin other countries. We 
learn from writers of no small note, that Abgarus king of 
Edessa, being seized with a severe and dangerous illness, 
wrote to our blessed Lord to implore his assistance ; and that 
Jesus not only sent him a gracious answer, but also accom- 
panied it with his picture, as a mark of his esteem for that 
pious prince. These letters are still extant. But they are 
justly looked upon as fictitious by most writers, who also go 
yet farther, ancl treat the whole story of Abgarus as entirely 
fabulous, and unworthy of credit. I wall not pretend to as- 
sert the genuineness of these letters; but Isee no reason of 
sufficient weight to destroy the credibility of the whole story 
which is supposed to have given occasion to them. 

A great number of the Jews, struck with those illustrious 
marks of a divine authority and power, that shone forth in the 
ministry and actions of Christ, regarded him as the Son of 
God, the true Messiah. The rulers of the people, and more 
especially the chief priests and Pharisees, whose licentious- 

ss and hypocrisy he censured with a noble and generous 
freedom, labored with success, by the help of their passions, 
to extinguish in their breasts the conviction of his celestial 
mission; or, at least, to suppress the effects it was adapted 
to produce upon their conduct. Fearing also lest the minis- 
try of Christ should tend to diminish their credit, and to de- 
prive them of the advantages they derived from the impious 
abuse of their authority in religious matters ; they laid snare? 
for his life, which for a considerable time were without effect. 
They succeeded at length by the infernal treason of an apos- 
tate disciple, by the treachery of Ju4as, who discovered the 
retreat wdiich his divine master had chosen for the purposes 
of meditation and repose, and thus delivered him into the 
merciless hands of a brutal soldiery. 

In consequence of this, Jesus was brought before the Jewish 



46 EXTERAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

high-priest and sanhedrim, before whom he was accused of 
having' violated the law, and blasphemed the majesty of God. 
Dragged from thence to the tribunal of Pilate the Roman prse- 
ter, he was there charged with seditious enterprises, and with 
treason against Caesar. Both these accusations were so ev- 
idently fake and destitute even of every appearance of truth, 
that they must have been rejected by any judge s who acted 
upon the principles of common equity. But the. clamors of 
an enraged populace,, set on by the impious instigations of 
their priests and rulers, intimidated Pilate, and engaged him, 
though with the utmost reluctance, a&d in opposition to the 
dictates of his conscience, to pronounce a capital sentence 
against Christ. The divine Saviour behaved with inexpres- 
sible dignity under this heavy trial. As the end of his mis- 
sion was to make expiation for the sins of men, so when all 
things were ready, and when he had finished the work of his 
glorious ministry, he placidly submitted to the death of the 
cross, and with a serene and voluntary resignation, commit- 
ted his spirit into the hands of the Father. 

After Jesus had remained three days in the sepulchre, he 
resumed that life which he had voluntarily laid down ; and 
rising fromthe dead, declared to the universe, by that trium- 
phant act, that the divine justice was satisfied, and the paths 
of salvation and immortality rendered accessible to the hu- 
man race. He conversed with his disciptes during forty days 
after his resurrection, and employed that time in instructing 
them more fully concerning the nature of his kingdom. Many 
wise and important reasons prevented his 1 ' showing himself 
publicly at Jerusalem, to confound the malignity and unbe- 
lief of his enemies. He contented himself with manifesting 
the certainty of his glorious resurrection, to a sufficient num- 
ber of faithful and credible witnesses; foreseeing, perhaps, 
that if he appeared in public, those malicious unbelievers 
who had formerly attributed his miracles to the power of 
magic, would now represent his resurrection, as a phantom 
or vision, produced by the influence of infernal powers. Af- 
ter having remained upon earth during the space of time 
above mentioned, and given to his disciples a divine, com- 
mission to preach the glad tidings of salvation and immor- 
tality to the human race, he ascended into heaven, in their 
presence, and resumed the enjoyment of that glory of which 
he was possessed before the worlds were created. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 47 



CHAPTER IV. 

CONCERNING THE PROSPEROUS EVENTS THAT HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH 
DCRI^G THIS CENT CRY. 

The Apostles filled with the Iidy Ghost — The election of a new Apostle — 
Paul called — The church o{ Jerusalem — Churches founded by the Apostles 
in different places — The heathen respect Christ — Causes of the rapid spread 
of Christianity — Miraculous gifts— The progress of the gospel ascribed to 
absurd causes. 

Jesus, being ascended into heaven, soon showed his ac- 
ted discipics. that, though invisible to mortal eyes, he 
was still their omnipotent protector, and their benevolent- 
guide. About fifty days after his departure from them, he gave 
them the first proof of that majesty and power to which he 
was exalted, by the effusion of the Holy Ghost upon them 
according to his promise. The consequences of this grand 
nt were surprising and glorious, infinitely honorable to 
the christian religion and the divine mission of its triumph- 
ant author. For no sooner had the apostles received this. 
precious gift, this celestial guide, than their ignorance was 
ned into light, their doubts into certainty, their fears into 
:i firm and invincible fortitude, and their former baekward- 
3S into an ardent and inextinguishable zeal, which led 
them to undertake their sacred office with the utmost intre- 
pidly and alacrity of mind. This marvellous event was 
attended with a variety of gifts; particularly the gift of 
tongues, so indispensably necessary to quality the apostles 
to preach the gospel to the different nations. These holj 
apostles were also filled with a perfect persuasion, founded 
on Christ's express promise, that the divine presence would 
perpetually accompany them, and show itself by miracu- 
s interpositions, as often as the success of their ministry 
aid render this necessary. 
Relying upon these eelestial succors, the apostles began 
dr glorious ministry, by preaching the gospel, according to 
Ohrist's positive command, first to the Jews, and by endea- 
voring to bring that deluded people to the knowledge of the 
truth. Nor were their labors unsuccessful, since, in a very 
>rt time, many thousands were converted, by the influ- 
ence of their ministry, to the christian faith. From the 
vrsthey passed to the Samaritans, to whom they preached 
with such efficacy, that great numbers of that nation ao- 



48 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 

knowledged the Messiah. And after that they had exer- 
cised their ministry, during several years, at Jerusalem, and 
brought to a sufficient degree of consistence and maturity 
the christian churches which were founded in Palestine and 
the adjacent countries, they extended their views farther, 
carried the divine lamp of the gospel to all the nations of 
the world, and saw their labors crowned, almost every 
where, with the most abundant fruits. 

No sooner was Christ exalted on high, than the apostles, 
determined to render their number complete, as it had been 
fixed by their divine master, and accordingly to choose, in 
the place of Judas, who had desperately perished by his own 
hands, a man endowed with such degrees of sanctity and 
wisdom as were necessary in a station of such vast impor- 
tance. Having therefore gathered together the small assem- 
bly of Christians which then had been formed at Jerusalem, 
two men remarkable for their piety and faith, were proposed 
as the most worthy to stand candidates for this sacred office. 
Thege men were Matthias and Barnabas, the former of whom 
was, either by lot, which is the most general opinion, or by a 
plurality of voices of the assembly there present, chosen to 
the dignity of an apostle. 

All these apostles were men without education, and abso- 
lutely ignorant of letters and philosophy; and yet in the in- 
fancy of the Christian church, it was necessary that there 
should be, at least, some one defender of the gospel, .who 
versed in the learned arts, might be able to combat the Jew- 
ish teachers and the Pagan philosophers with their own arms. 
For this purpose, Jesus himself, by an extraordinary voice 
from Heaven, called to his service a thirteenth apostle, whose 
name was Saul, afterward Paul, and whose acquaintance 
both with Jewish and Grecian learning was very cansiderable. 
This extraordinary man, who had been one of the most vir- 
ulent enemies of the Christians, became their most glorious 
and triumphant defender.. Independent of the miraculous 
gifts with which he was enriched, he was naturally posses- 
sed of an invincible courage, an amazing force of genius, 
and a spirit of patience, which no fatigue could overcome, 
and which no sufferings or trials could exhaust. To these 
the cause of the gospel, under the divine appointment, owed 
a considerable part of its rapid progress and surprising suc- 
cess, as the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles of St. Paul.. 
abundantly testify. 



PROSPEROUS EVENTS. 49 

The first christian church founded by the apostles was 
that of Jerusalem, which was the model of all those that 
were afterward erected during this first century. This 
church was, however, governed by the apostles themselves, 
to whom the elders, and those who were entrusted with the 
care of the poor, even the deacons, were subject. The peo- 
ple, though they had not abandoned the Jewish worship, 
held, however, separate assemblies, in which they were in- 
structed by the apostles and elders, prayed together, cele- 
brated the holy supper, in remembrance of Christ, of his 
death and sufferings, and the salvation offered to mankind 
through him; and at the conclusion of these meetings, they 
testified their mutual love, partly by their liberality to the 
poor, and partly by sober and friendly repasts, which from 
thence were called feasts of [charity. Among the virtues 
which distinguished the rising church in this its infancy, that 
of charity to the poor and needy shone in the first rank, and 
with the brightest lustre. ' The rich supplied the wants of 
their indigent brethren, with such liberality and readiness, 
t at. as St. Luke tells us, among the primitive disciples of 
Christ, all things were in common. This expression has, how- 
ever, been greatly abused, and has been made to signify a 

munity of rights, goods, or possessions, than which inter- 
pretation nothing is more groundless, nothing more false. 
For, from a multitude of reasons, as well as from the ex- 
press words of St. Peter, it is abundantly manifest, that the 
community, which is implied in mutual us- and liberality, is 
the only thing intended in this passage. 

The apostles, having finished their work at Jerusalem, 

Qt from thence to employ their labors in other nations, 
traveled with this view over a great part of the kno 
world, and in a short time planted a vast number of church- 
es among the Gentiles. Several of these are mentioned in 
the sacred writings, particularly in the Jets of the Aposths: 
these are, undoubtedly, but a small^part of the churches which 
were founded either by the apostles themselves, or by their 
disciples, under their immediate direction. The distance 
of time and the want of records, leave us at a loss with re- 
spect to many interesting circumstances of the peregrina- 
tions of the apostles; nor have we any certain or precise ac- 
counts of the limits of their voyages, of the particular coun- 
tries where they sojourned, nor of the times and places in 
which they finished their clorious course. The stories that 

d* 



50 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

are told of their arrival and exploits among the Gauls, tire 
English, the Spaniards, the Germans, the Americans, the 
Chinese, the Indians, and the Russians, are too romantic in 
their nature, and of too recent a date, to be received by an 
impartial inquirer after truth. The greatest part of these 
fables were forged after the time of Charlemagne, when 
most of the christian churches contended about the antiqui- 
ty of their origin, with as much vehemence as the Arcadi- 
ans, Egyptians, and Greeks, disputed formerly about their 
seniority and precedence. 

At the same time, the beauty and excellence of the chris- 
tian religion excited the admiration of the thinking part cf 
mankind, wherever the apostics directed their course. Many 
who were not willing < to adopt the whole of its doctrines, 
were nevertheless, as appears from undoubted records, so 
struck with the account of Christ's life and actions, and so 
charmed with the sublime purity of his precepts, that they 
ranked him in the number of the greatest heroes, nay even 
of the gods themselves. Great numbers kept, with the ut- 
most care, in their houses, pictures or images ol the divine 
Savior and his apostles, which they treated with the highest 
marks of veneration and respect, And so illustrious was the 
fame of Christ's power grown, after his resurrection from the 
dead, and the miraculous gifts shed from on high upon his 
apostles, that the emperor Tiberius is said to have proposed 
his being enrolled among the gods of Rome< which the op- 
position of the Senate hindered from taking effect. Many 
have doubted of the truth of this story; there are, however, 
several authors of the first note, who have declared that the 
reasons alleged for the truth of this fact, are such as have 
removed their doubts, and appeared to them satisfactory and 
conclusive. 

When we consider the rapid progress of Christianity, 
among the Gentile nations, and the poor and feeble instru- 
ments by which this great and amazing event was immedi- 
ately effected, we mustnatur ally have recourse to an omni- 
potent and invisible hand, as its true and proper cause. For 
unless we suppose here a divine interposition, how was it 
possible that men destitute of all human aid, witbot&t credit 
or riches, learning, or eloquence, could, in so short a time, 
persuade a considerable ' part of mankind to abandon the 
religion of their ancestors? How was it possible that a 
handful of apostles, who, as fishermen and publicans, must 



PROSPEROUS EVENTS. 51 

have been contemned by their own nation, and as Jew,- 
must have been odious to all others, could engage the 
learned and the mighty, as well as the simple, and those of 
low degree, to forsake their favorite prejudices, and to em- 
brace a new religion which was an enemy to their corrupt 
passions? And, indeed, there were undoubted marks of a 
celestial power perpetually attending their ministry. There 
was, in their very language an incredible energy, an ama- 
zing power of sending light into the understanding and con- 
viction into the heart. To this were added the commanding 
influence of stupendous miracles, the foretelling of future 
events, the power of discerning the secret thoughts and in- 
tentions of the heart, a magnanimity superior to all diffi- 
culties, a contempt of riches and honors, a serene tranquil- 
lity in the face of death, and invincible patience under tor- 
ments still more dreadful than death itself; and all this ac- 
companied with lives tree from all stain, and adorned with 
the constant practice of sublime virtue: Thus were the 
messengers of the divine Savior, the heralds of his spiritual 
and immortal kingdom, furnished for their glorious work, as 
the unanimous voice of ancient history so loudly testified. 
The event sufficiently declares this; for without these remark- 
able and extraordinary cireumstanc-s, no rational account 
can be given of the rapid propagation of the gospel through- 
out the world. 

What indeed contributed still further to this glorious event 
•was the power vested in the apostles of transmitting to 
their disciples these miraculous gifts. For many of the first 
christians were no sooner baptized, according to Christ* ap- 
pointment, and dedicated to the service of God by solemn 
prayer and the imposition of hands, than they spoke lan- 
guages they had never known or learned before; foretold 
future events, healed the sick by pronouncing the name of 
Jesu-', restored the dead to life, and performed manv things. 
above the reach of human power. And it is no wonder if 
men, who had the power of communicating to others these 
marvelous gifts, appeared great and respectable, wherever 
y exercised their glorious ministry. 

Such then were the true causes of that amazing rapidity 
with which the christian religion spread itself upon earth- 
and those who pretend to assign other reasons of this sur- 
prising event, indulge themselves in idle fictions, -which must 
disgust every attentive observer of men and things. In vain 



52 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CH^BC^< 

therefore have some imagined, that the extraordinary libe- 
rality of the christians to their poor, was a temptation to the 
more indolent and corrupt part of the multitude to embrace 
the gospel. Such malignant and superficial reasoners do 
not consider that those who embraced this divine religion 
exposed their lives to the most imminent danger; nor have 
they attention enough to recollect, that neither lazy nor vi- 
cious members were suffered to remain in the society of 
Christians. Equally in vain is the invention of those who 
imagine that the profligate lives of the heathen priests was 
an occasion of the conversion of many to Christianity. For, 
though this might indeed give them a disgust at the religion 
of these unworthy ministers, yet it could not, alone, attach 
them to that of Jesus, which offered them from the world no 
other prospects than those of poverty, infamy, and death. 
The person who could embrace the gospel solely from the 
motive now mentioned, must have reasoned in this senseless 
and extravagant manner: "the ministers of that religion which 
I have professed from my infancy, lead profligate lives; there- 
fore I will become a Christian, join myself to that body of 
men w T ho are condemned by the laws of the State, and thus 
expose my life and fortune to the most imminent danger," 



CHAPTER V. 

CONCERNING THE CALAMITOUS EVENTS THAT HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH. 

The Jews persecute the Christians at home and abroad — but were severely pu- 
nished tor their cruel treatment of Ch-ris tia i '—he \\hvn persecute the Chris- 
tians in ten persecutions — la ws against Chihua»> — the cause oi persecution 
—other causes— slanders spread against the Cor stilus — judicial proceedings 
against them — martyrs — their number — their jives and actions — persecution 
under Nero — its extent — persecution under Domitian. 

The innocence and virtue that distinguished so eminently 
the lives of Christ's servants, and the spotless purity of the 
doctrine they taught, were not sufficient to defend them 
against the virulence and malignity of the Jews. The priests 
and rulers of that abandoned people not only loaded with 
reproach the apostles of Jesus and their disciples, but con- 
demned as many of them as they could to death, and exe- 
cuted in the most irregular and barbarous manner their san- 
guinary decrees. The murder of Stephen, of James, the 
son of Zebedee, simamed the Just, bishop of Jerusalem, 



CALAMITOUS EVENTS. 53 

furnish dreadful examples of the truth of what we here ad- 
vance. This odious malignity of the Jewish teachers against 
the heralds of the gospel, was doubtless owing to a secret 
apprehension that the progress of Christianity would destroy 
the credit of Judaism, and bring on the ruin of their pom- 
pous ceremonies. 

The Jews who lived out of Palestine, in the Roman pro- 
vinces, did not yield to those of Jerusalem, in point of cru- 
elty to the innocent disciples of Christ. We learn from the 
history of the Acts of the Apostles, and other records of un- 
questionable authority, that they spared no labor, but zea- 
lously seized every occasion of animating the magistrates 
against the Christians, and setting on the multitude to de- 
mand their destruction. The highpriest of the nation, and 
the Jews who dwelt in Palestine, were instrumental in ex- 
citing the rage of these foreign Jews against the infant 
church by sending messengers to exhort them not only to 
avoid all intercourse with the Christians, but also to perse- 
cute them in the most vehement manner. For this inhuman 
order they endeavored to find the most plausible pretexts; 
and therefore they gave out that they were enemies to the 
Roman emperor, since they acknowledged the authority of 
a certain person whose name was Jesus, whom Pilate had 
punished capitally as a malefactor,!^ a most righteous sen- 
tence, and on whom, nevertheless, they conferred the royal 
dignity. These perfidious insinuations had" the intended ef- 
fect, and the rage of the Jews against the Christiaus was 
conveyed from father to son, and from age to age; so that the 
church of Christ had at no time more bitter and desperate 
enemies than that very people to whom the immortal &&- 
vior was more especially sent. 

The Supreme Judge of the world did not let the barba- 
rous conduct of this perfidious nation go unpunished. The 
most signal marks of divine justice pursued them, and the 
cruelties they had exercised upon Christ, and his disciples, 
were dreadfully avenged. The God, who had for so many 

■s protected the Jews, with an outstretched arm, withdrew 
his aid. He permitted Jerusalem, with its famous temple, to 
be destroyed by A'espasian and his son Titus, an innumera- 
ble multitude of this devoted people to perish by the sword, 
and the greatest part of those that remained to groan under 
the yoke of a severe bondage. Nothing can be more affect- 
ing than the account of this terrible event and the circu/n- 



i>4 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF TflE CMtJRCH. 

stantial description of the tremendous calamities which at- 
tended it, as they are given b) r Josephus, himself a Jew and 
also a spectator of this horrid scene From this period the 
Jews experienced in every place the hatred and contempt of 
the Gentile nations, stilt more than they had formerly done. 
And in these calamities the predictions of Christ were am- 
ply fulfilled, and his divine mission further illustrated. 

However virulent the Jews were against the Christians, 
yet, upon many occasions they wanted power to execute 
their cruel purposes. This was not the case with the heathen 
nations; and consequently from them the Christians suffered 
the severest calamities. The Romans are said to have per- 
secuted the Christians with the utmost violence in ten perse- 
cutions, but this nu-mber is not verified by the ancient history 
of the church. For if, by these persecutions, such only are 
meant as were singularly severe and universal throughout 
the empire, then it is certain that these amount not to the 
number mentioned; and if we take the provincial and less 
remarkable persecutions into the account, they far exceed it. 
In the fifth century certain Christians were led by some pas- 
sages of the holy scriptures, and by one especially in the Re- 
velations, to imagine that the church was to suffer ten cala- 
mities of a most grievous nature. To this notion, therefore, 
they endeavored, though not all in the same way; to accom- 
modate the language of history, even against the testimony 
of those ancient records, from whence alone history can 
speak with authority. 

Nero was the first emperor that enacted laws against the 
Christians. In this he was followed by Domitian, Marcus 
Antoninus the philosopher, Severus, and the other empe- 
rors who indulged the prejudices they had imbibed against 
the disciples of Jesus. All the edicts of these different prin- 
ces were not, however equally unjust, nor made with the 
same views and for the same reasons. Were they now ex- 
tant, as they w^ere collected by the celebrated lawyer Domi- 
tius, in his book concerning the duty of a ■proconsul^ they 
would undoubtedly cast a great light upon the history of the 
church, under the persecuting emperors. At present we 
must, in many cases, be satisfied with probable conjectures 
for \Vant of more certain evidence. 

Before we proceed further in this part of our history, a 
very natural curiosity leads us to inquire how it happened 
that the Romans, who were trouble^va^ to no nation, 



CALAMITOUS EVENTS.. 55 

account of their religion, and who suffered even the Jews 
to live under their own laws, and follow their own method 
of worship, treated the christians alone with such severity. 
This important question seems still more difficult to be solved 
when we consider that the excellent nature of the christian 
religion, and its admirable tendency to promote both the 
public welfare of the State and the private felicity of the in- 
dividual, entitled it, in a singular manner, to the favor and 
protection of the reigning powers. One of the principal 
reasons of the severity with which the Romans persecuted 
the Christians, notwithstanding these considerations, seems to 
have been the abhorrence and contempt with which the lat- 
ter regarded the religion of the empire, which was so inti- 
mately connected with the form, and indeed with the es- 
sence of its political constitution. For, though the Romans 
gave an unlimited toleration to all religions which had no- 
thing in their tenets dangerous to the commonwealth, yet 
they would not permit that of their ancestors, which was 

tbiished by the laws of the State, to be turned, into deri- 
sion, aor the people to be drawn- away from their attach- 
ment to it. These, however, .were the two things which the 
Christians were charged with, and that justly though to 
their honor. They dared to ridicule the absurdities of the 
pagan superstition, and they were ardent and assiduous in 
gaining proseleytes to the truth. Nor did they only attack 
the religion of Rome, but also all the different shapes and 
forms under which superstition appeared in the various coun- 
tries where they exercised their ministry. From hence the 
Romans concluded that the christian sect was not only un- 
supportably daring and arrogant, but moreover an enemy to 
the public lity, and every way proper to excite civil 

wars and commotions in the empire. It is, probably on this 
account that Tacitus reproaches them with the odious cha- 
racter of haters of mankind^ and styles the religion of Jesus 
a destructive superstition; and that Suetonius speaks of the 
Christians and their doctrine in terms of the same kind.. 

Another circumstance that irritated the Romans against 
the Christians was, the simplicity of their worship, which re- 

ibled in nothing the sacred rites of any other people. The 
Christians had neither sacrifices, nor temples, nor images, 
nor oracles, nor sacerdotal orders; and this was sufficient to 
bring upon them.tKe repro of an ignorant multitude, 

who Imagined th&re could he no religion without these. Thus 



56 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

they were looked upon as a sort of atheists; and by the Ro- 
man laws those who were chargeable with atheism were de- 
clared the pests of human society. But this was not all; the 
sordid interests of a multitude of lazy and selfish priests were 
immediate^ connected w T ith the ruin and oppression of the 
christian cause. The public worship of such an immense 
number of deities was a source of subsistence, and even of 
riches to the whole rabble of priests and augurs; and also to 
a multitude of merchants and artists. And as the gospel 
threatened the ruin of this religious traffic and the profits it 
produced, this raised up new enemies to the Christians, and 
armed the rage of mercenary superstition against their lives 
and their cause. 

To accomplish more speedily the ruin of the Christians, 
those, whose interests were incompatible with the spread of 
the gospel, loaded them with the most opprobrious calum- 
nies, winch were too easily received as truth, by the credu- 
lous and unthinking multitude, among whom they were dis- 
persed with the utmost' industry. We find a large account 
of these perfidious and ill grounded reproaches in the wai- 
tings of the first defenders of the christian cause. And these 
indeed were the only arms -they had to oppose the truth: 
since the excellence of the gospel, and the virtue of its mi- 
nisters and followers, left its enemies no resources but calum- 
ny and persecution. Nothing can be imagined, in point of 
virulence and fury, that they did not employ for the ruin of 
the Christians. They even went so far as to persuade the 
multitude, that all the calamities, wars, tempests, and dis- 
eases that afflict mankind, were judgments sent down by the 
angry gods, because the Christians, who contemned their 
authority, were suffered in the empire. 

The various kinds of punishments, both capital and cor- 
rective, w r hich were employed against the Christians, are 
particularly described by learned men who have, written pro- 
fessedly upon that subject. The forms of proceeding, used 
in their condemnation may be seen in the Acts of the Mar- 
tyrs, in the letters of Pliny and Trajan, and other ancient 
monuments. These judicial forms were very different at 
different times, and changed according to the mildness or se- 
verity of the laws enacted by the different emperors against 
the Christians. Thus, at one time, we see the most diligent 
search made after the followers of Christ: at another all per- 
quisition suspended, and po§itive^acQUS9,tiQn^p4ij9i&^AtiQQ 



CALAMITOUS EVEXTS. .57 

only allowed. Under one reign we see them upon their be- 
ing proved Christians, or their confessing themselves such, 
immediately dragged away to execution, unless they pre- 
vent their punishment by apostaey; under another we see 
inhuman magistrates endeavoring to compel them, by all 
sorts of torturer, to renounce their profession. 

They who, in the perilous times of the church, fell by the 
hand of bloody persecution, and'expired in the cause of the 
divine Savior, were called martyrs, a term borrowed from 
the sacred writings, which signifies witnesses, and thus ex- 
presses the glorious testimony which these magnanimous be- 
lievers bore to the truth. The title of confessors was given 
to such as in the face of death, and at the expense of ho- 
nors, fortune, and all the other advantages of the world, had 
confessed with fortitude, before the Roman tribunals, their 
firm attachment to the religion of Jesus. The veneration 
that was paid to both martyrs and confessors is hardly cre- 
dible. The distinguishing honor and privileges they en- 
joyed, the authority with which their counsels and decisions 
were attended, would furnish ample matter for a history 
apart; and such an undertaking might be useful in many re- 
spects. There was, no doubt, as much wisdom as justice 
in treating with such respect, and investing with such privi- 
leges these christian heroes; since nothing was more adapted 
to encourage others to suffer with cheerfulness in the cause 
of Christ. But, as the best and wisest institutions are often 
perverted, by the weakness or corruption of men, from their 
original purpose, so the authority and privileges, granted in 
the beginning, to martyrs and confessors, became, in pro- 
cess of time, a support to superstition, an incentive to enthu- 
siasm, and a source of innumerable evils and abuses. 

The first three or four ages of the church were stained 
with the blood of martyrs, who suffered for the name of Je- 
sus. The greatness of their number is acknowledged by all 
who have a competent knowledge of history, and who have 
examined that matter with any degree of impartiality. It 
is true; the learned Dodwell has endeavored to invalidate 
this unanimous decision of the ancient historians, and to di- 
minish considerably the number of those that suffered death 
for the gospel. And after him several writers have main- 
tained his opinion and asserted that whatever may have 
been the calamities that the Christians in general suffered for 
their attachment to the gospel, very few were put to death 



a • 

&8 EXTERNAL, HISTORY OF THE CHURCH* 

on that account. This hypothesis has beetr warmly opposed, 
as derogating from that divine power that enabled Chris- 
tians to be faithful even unto death, and a contrary one em- 
braced, which augments considerably the number of these 
heroic sufferers. Here, no doubt, it will be wise to avoid 
both these extremes, and to hold the middle path, which cer- 
tainly leads nearest to the truth. The martyrs were less in 
number than several of the ancient and modern writers have 
supposed* them to be; but much more numerous than Dod- 
well ancLhis followers are Willing to believe. And this me- 
dium will be easily admitted by such as have, learned from 
the ancient writers that in the darkest and most calamitous 
times of the church, all Christians were not equally nor pro- 
miscuously disturbed nor called before the public tribunals. 
Those who were of the lowest rank of the people escaped 
the best: their obscurity, in some measure, screened them 
from the fury of persecution. The learned and eloquent, the 
doctors and ministers, and chiefly the rich, alter the confisca- 
tion of whose fortunes a rapacious magistry were continu- 
ally gaping, these were the persons most exposed to the dan- 
gers of the times. 

The actions and sayings of these, .holy martyrs, from the 
moment of their imprisonment to the last gasp, were care- 
fully recorded, in order to be read on .certain days, and thus 
proposed as models to future ages. But few, however, of 
these ancient acts are come down to our times; the greatest 
part of them having been destroyed during that dreadful 
persecution which Dioclesian carried on ten years, with such 
fury against the Christians. For a most diligent search was 
then made after all their hooks and papers: and all of them 
that were found were committed to the flames. From the 
eighth century downward several Latin and Greek writers 
endeavored to make up this loss, by compiling, with vast 
labor, accounts of the lives and actions of the ancient mar- 
tyrs. But the most of them have given us little else than a 
series of fables, adorned with profusion of rhetorical flowers 
and striking images, as the wiser of the Romish teachers 
frankly acknowledge. Nor are those records that pass under 
the name of martyrology, worthy of superior credit; since 
. bear the most evident marks both of ignorance aud false- 
hood. So that, upon the whole, this part of church history; 
for want of ancient -and authentic- monuments, is extremely 
imperfect, and necessarily attended with much obscurity. 



CALAMITOUS' EVENTS. 59 

It would liare been surprising, if under susfc a monster of 
cruelty as Nero the Christians had enjoyed the sweets of 
tranquillity and freedom* But this was far from being the 
ease: for this perfidious tyrant accused them of setting fire 
to the city of Rome, that -horrid crime which he himself had 
committed with a barbarous pleasure. In avenging this 
crime upon the innocent Christians, he ordered matters so, 
that the punishment should bear some resemblance to the of- 
fence. He therefore wrapped up some of them in combus- 
tible garments, and ordered fire to be set to them when the 

rkness came on, that thus, like torches, they might dispel 
the obscurity of the night; while others were fastened to 
crosses, or torn hi pieces by wild beasts, or put to death in. 
some such dreadful manner. This horrid persecution was ^ct 
on foot in the mouth of November, in the 64th year of CI; 
and in it, according to some ancient accounts St. Paul and 
St. Peter suffered martyrdom: though this latter fact is < 

ted by many, ashling absolutely irreconciieable with 
chronology. The death of Nero, who perished miserably in 
the year 68, put an end to the calamities of this first p.: 

don, under which, during the space of four ye; 
Christians suffered every species of torment and affliction 
• which the ingenious cruelty of their enemies could invent. 

Learned men are not entirely agreed concerning the ex- 
tent of this persecution under Nero. Some confine it to the 
city of Rome, while others represent it as having raged 
throughout the whole empire. The latter opinion, which is 
also the most ancient, is undoutedly to be preferred; as it is 
certain, that the laws enacted against Christians were en- 
acted against the whole body, and not against particular 
churches, and were consequently in force in the remotest 
provinces. The authority of TertulBan confirms this, who 
tells us Nero and Domitian had enacted laws against the 
Christians, of which Trajan had, in part taken away the 
force, and rendered them in some measure, without effect. 
We shall not have recourse, for a further confirmation of this 

inion, to that famous Portuguese or Spanish inscription, in 
which Nero is praised for having purged that province /'. 
the new superstition; since that inscription is justly suspected 
to be a mere forgery, and the best Spanish authors consider 
it as such. But we may, however, make one observation. 
which will tend to illustrate the point in question, and I 
is, that since the Christians were condemned by Nero, not 



GO EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

•* 

so much oil account of theii\religion,.as for the falsely impu- 
ted crime of burning the city, it is scarcely to be imagined 
that he would leave unmolested, even beyond the bounds of 
Home, a sect whose members were accused of such an abo- 
minable deed. 

Though immediately, after the death of Nero, the rage of 
this first persecution against the Christians ceased, yet the 
ilame broke out anew in the year ninety-three or ninety-four, 
under Domitian, a prince little inferior to Nero, in all sorts 
of wickedness. This persecution was occasioned, if we may 
give credit to Hegesippus, by the fears that Domitian was 
under of losing the empire; for he was informed that among 
the relations of Christ a man should arise, who being pos- 
sessed of a turbulent and ambitious spirit, was to excite 
commotions in the State, and aim at supreme dominion. 
Hfowever that may have been, the persecution renewed by 
this unworthy prince was extremely violent, though his un- 
timely death put a stop to it not long after it commenced. 
Flavius Clemens, a man of consular dignity, and Flavia Do- 
mitilla, his niece, or, as some say, his wife, were the prin- 
cipal martyrs that suffered in this persecution, in which also 
the apostle John was banished to the isle of Eatmos. Ter- 
tuilian and other writers inform us that before his banish- 
ment he was thrown into a chaldron of boiling oil, from 
whence he came forth not only living, but even unhurt. This 
story however, is not attested in such a manner, as to leave 
..po remaining doubt about its certainty. 



PART IL 

iNTERXAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 



CHAPTER I. 

TALVING AN ACCOUNT OF THE STATE OF LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY. 

Philosophy in the East — that of the Persians, Chaldeans, and Arabians — wis- 
dom of the Indians and Egyptians— the Oriental philosophy — its first prin- 
ciples — its adherents divide in their sentiments — their opinions concernintr 
God — concerning the origin of the world — concerning human destinv — the 
Jewisii philosophy — state of learning in Greece — at Rome — in other nations. 

If we had any certain or satisfactory account of the doc- 
trines which were received by the wiser of the eastern na- 
tions, when the light of the gospel first rose upon the world, 
this would contribute to illustrate many important points, in 
the ancient history of the church. But the case is quite 
otherwise: the fragments of the ancient oriental philo* o.pKy 
that are come down to us, are, as every one knows, few in 
number; and such as they are, they yet require the diligence, 
erudition, and sagacity of some learned man, to collect them 
into a body, to arrange them with method, and to explain 
them with perspicuity. 

The doctrine of the magi, who believed the universe to be 
governed by two principles, the one good, and the other evil, 
flourished in Persia. Their followers, however, were not all 
agreed concerning the nature of these principles: but this 
did not prevent the propagation of the main doctrine, which 
was received throughout a considerable part of Asia and 
Africa, especially among the Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syrians, 
and Egyptians, though with different modifications, and had 
even infected the Jews themselves. The Arabians at that 
time, and even afterward, were more remarkable for strength 
and courage than for genius and sagacity; nor do they seem, 
according to their own confession, to have acquired any 
it reputation for wisdom and philosophy before the time 
of Mahomet 



•J:2 'INTERNAL HISTORY OF mK" CHURCH... 

From the earliest times the Indians were distinguished by 
their taste for sublime knowledge and wisdom. We might, 
perhaps, be able to form a judgment of their philosophi- 
cal tenets, if that most ancient book, which they looked up- 
on as particularly sacred, and which they call veda, or the 
law, were brought to light, and translated into some known 
language. But the accounts which are given of this remark- 
able book, by those who have been in the Indies, are so va- 
rious and irreconcilable with each other, that we must yet 
wait for further satisfaction on this head. As to the Egyp- 
tians, they were divided, as every one knows, into a multi- 
tude of sects and opinions; so that their; labor seems ex- 
ceeding fruitless, who endeavour to reduce the philosophy 
of this people to one system. 

But of ail the different systems of philosophy that were 
received in Asia and Africa about the time of our Savior, 
none were so detrimental to the Christian religion, as that 
which w T as styled gnosis or science i.e. the nay to the true 
knowledge of the Deity,~a,n& which we have above called the 
oriental doctrine, in order to distinguish it from the Grecian 
philosophy. It was from the bosom of this pretended orien- 
tal wisdom, that the chiefs of those sects, which in the three 
first centuries perplexed and afflicted the Christian church, 
originally issued forth. These supercilious teachers, endeav- 
oring to accommodate to the tenets of their fantastic phi- 
losophy, the pure, the simple, and sublime doctrines of the 
Son of God, brought forth, as the result of this jarring com^ 
position, a multitude of idle dreams and fictions, and im- 
posed upon their followers a system of opinions, which were 
partly ludicrous, .and partly perplexed with intricate sub- 
til ties, and covered over with impenetrable obscurity, The 
ancient teachers, both Greek and Latin, who opposed these 
sects, considered them as to many "branches that derived 
their origin from the platonic philosophy. But this was 
pure illusion; an apparent resemblance between certain 
opinions of Plato, and some of, the tenets of the eastern 
schools, deceived these good men, who had ao knowledge 
but of the Grecian philosophy, and were absolutely igno- 
rant of the oriental doctrines. Whoever compares the pla- 
tonic and gnostic philosophy together, will easily perceive 
the wide difference, there is between them. 

The first principles of the oriental philosophy seem per- 
fectly consistent with the dictates of reason; for its first four*- 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY. 63 

der must undoubtedly have argued in the following manner; 
"there are many evils in this world, and men seem impelled 
bv a natural instinct to the practice of those things which 
reason condemns; but that eternal mind, from which all spir- 
its derive their existence, must be inaccessible to ail kinds of 
evil and also of a most perfect and beneficent nature; there- 
fore the origin of those evils, with which the universe 
abounds, must be sought somewhere else than in the Deity. 
It cannot reside in him who is all perfection: and therefore 
it must be without him. Now, there is nothing without or be- 
yond the Deity, but matter; therefore matter is the centre and 
source of all evil, of all vice." Having taken for granted 
these principles, they proceeded farther, and affirmed that 
matter was eternal, and derived its present form, not from 
the will of the Supreme God, but from the creating power 
of some inferior intelligence, to whom the world and its in- 
habitants owed their existence. As a proof of this asser- 
tion they alledged that it was incredible, that the Supreme 
Deity perfectly good, and infinitely removed from all evil, 
should either create or modify matter, which is essentially 
malignant and corrupt, or bestow upon it, in any degree, the 
riches of his wisdom and liberality. They were, however, 
aware of the insuperable difficulties that lay against their 
system; for when they were called to explain, in an accu- 
rate and satisfactory manner, how this rude and corrupt 
matter came to be arranged into such a regular -and harmo- 
nious frame as that of the universe, and, particularly, how 
celestial spirits were joined to bodies formed out of its ma- 
lignant mass, they were sadly embarrassed, and found that 
plainest dictates of reason declared their system inca- 
pable of defence. In this perplexity, they had recourse to 
wild fictions and romantic fables, in order to give an account 
of the formation of the world, and the origin of mankind. 

Those who, by mere dint of fancy and invention endeavor 
.to cast a light upon obscure points, or to solve great and intri- 
cate difficulties, are seldom agreed about the methods of 
proceeding; and, by a necessary consequence, separate into 
different sects. Such was the case of the oriental philosophers 
when they set themselves to explain the difficulties men- 
tioned above. Some imagined two etemdl principles from 
whence &h- things proceeded, t.Le<me presiding over light, 
and the other over matter, and by their perpetual conflict, v.- - 
plained the mixture of good and -evil, that appeals in the 






64 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE OHURCH. 

universe. Others maintained, that the being, which presided 
over matter, was not an eternal principle, but a subordinate 
intelligence, one of thos€ whom the Supreme God produced 
from himself. They supposed that this being was moved, by 
a sudden impulse, to reduce to order the rude mass of mat- 
ter, which lay excluded from the mansions of the Deity, and 
also to create the human race. A third sort fell upon a sys- 
tem different from the two preceding, and formed to them- 
selves the notion of a triumvirate of beings, in which the Su- 
preme Deity was distinguished both from the material, evil 
principle, and from the creator of this sublunary world. These 
then, were the three leading sects of the oriental philosophy, 
which were subdivided into various factions, by the dispute 
that arose when they came to explain more fully their res- 
pective opinions, and to pursue them into all their monstrous 
consequences. These multiplied divisions were the natural, 
and necessary consequences of a system which had no solid 
foundation, and was no more, indeed, than an airy phan- 
tom, blown up by the w r anton fancies of self-sufficient men, 
And that these divisions did really subsist, the history of the 
Christian sects, that embraced this philosphy abundantly 
testifies. 

It is, however, to be observed, that, as all these sects were 
founded upon one common principle, their divisions did not 
prevent their holding, in common, certain opinions concern- 
ing the Deity, the universe, the human race, and several, oth- 
er subjects. They w r ere all, therefore, unanimous in ac- 
knowledging the existence of an eternal nature in whom 
dwelt the fulness of wisdom, goodness/ and all other perfec- 
tions, and of whom no mortal w T as able to form a complete 
idea. This great being w T as considered by them as a most 
pure and radiant light, diffused through the immensity of 
pace, which they called plcroma, a Greek word which signi- 
fies fulness, and they taught concerning him, and his ope- 
rations, the following things: u the eternal nature, infinite- 
ly perfect, and infinitely happy, having dw r elt from everlast- 
ing, in a profound solitude, and in a blessed tranquillity, 
produced at length from itself, two minds of a different sex 5 
which resembled their supreme parent in the most perfect 
manner. From the prolific union of these two beings others 
arose, which were also followed by succeeding generations; 
so that, in process of time a celestial family was formed in 
the plcroma. This divine progeny, being immutable in its 



s 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY. b'5 

nature, and above the power of mortality, was called by the 
philosophers (rianT a term which signifies, in the Greek lan- 
guage, an eternal nature. How many in number these aions 
were was a point much controverted among the oriental 
sages. 

'•Beyond the mansions of light, where dwells the Deity with 
his celestial offspring, there lies a rude and unwieldy mass 
of matter, agitated by innate, turbulent, and irregular mo- 
tions. One of the celestial natures, descending from the 
jderoma, either by a fortuitous impulse, or in consequence of 
a divine commission, reduced to order this unseemly mass, 
adorned it with a rich variety of gifts, created men and in- 
ferior animals, to store it with inhabitants, and corrected its 
malignity by mixing with it a certain portion of light, and 
also of a matter celestial and divine. This creator of the 
world is distinguished from the Supreme Being by the name 
of demiurge*. His character is a compound of shining quali- 
ties and insupportable arrogance; and his excessive lust of 
empire effaces his talents and his virtues. He claims domi- 
nion over the new world he has formed, as his sovereign 
right: and, excluding totally the Supreme Being from ail 
concernment in it, he demands from mankind, for himself 
and his associates, divine honors. '$.■?■ 

"Man is a compound of a terrestrial and coWupt body, and 
a soul which is of celestial origin, and, in some measure, an 
emanation from the divinity. This nobler part is miserably 
weighed down and encumbered by the body, which is the 
scat of all irregular lusts and impure desires, it is this body 
that seduces the soul from the pursuit of truth, and not only 
turns it from the contemplation and worship of the Supreme 
Being, so as to coniine its homa.g# and veneration to the 
Creator of this world, but also attai'Iies it to terrestrial ob- 
jects and to the pursuit of sensual pleasures, by which its 
nature is totally polluted. The sovereign mind employs va- 
rious means to deliver his offspring -from this deplorable ser- 
vitude, especially the ministry of divine messengers, whom 
he sends to enlighten, to admonish, and to reform the hum in 
r.tce. In the mean time, the imperious demiurge exerts his 
power in opposition to the purpose of the Supreme Being, 

ista the influence of those solemn invitations by which he 

exhorts mankind to return to him, and labors to. efface the. 

knowledge of God in the minds of intelligent beings. In 

conflict, such souls, as throwing off the yoke of the 



08 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCK>f. 

creators and rulers of this world, rise to their Supreme Parent, 
and subdue the turbulent and sinful motions, which corrupt 
matter excites within them, shall, at the dissolution of their 
mortal bodies, ascend directly to the plcroma. Those, on the 
contrary, who remain in the bondage of servile superstition 
and corrupt matter, shall, at the end of this life, pass into 
new bodies, until they awake from,, their sinful lethargy. In 
the end, however, the Supreme God shall come forth victo- 
rious, triumph over all opposition,, and, having delivered 
from their servitude the greatest part of those souls that are 
imprisoned in mortal bodies, shall dissolve the frame of this 
visible world, anil involve it in a general ruin. After this 
solemn period, primitive tranquilliiy ; shali be restored in the . 
universe, and God shall reign withliappy spirits, in undis- 
turbed felicity , through .the: everlasting ages." 

Suchr/were the principal tenets of the oriental, philosophy. 
The state of letters and philosophy among the Jews comes 
next under consideration; and of this we may form some 
idea from what has been already said concerning that na- 
tion. It is chiefly to be observed that the dark and hidden 
scienea^which they called the kahbala t was at this time taught 
and inculcatedj|fcy many among that superstitious people. 
This science, i MI ianv things, bears a strong resemblance to 
the oriental philosophy; or, to speak more accurately, it is 
indeed that same philosophy, accommodated to the Jewish 
religion, and tempered with a certain mixture of truth; JYor 
were the doctrines of the Grecian sages unknown to the 
Jews at the, period now before us; since, from the time of 
Alexander the Great, seme of them had been admitted, even 
into the. Mosaic religion. We shall say nothing concerning 
the opinions which they Ifcl opted from the philosophical and 
theological systems of the Chaldeans, Egyptians, and Sy- 
rians, 

The Greeks, m ;i the opinion of most writers, w#re yet in 
possession of the first rank among the nations that cultiva- 
ted letters and philosophy, in many places, and especially 
at Athens, there were .a considerable number of men distin- 
guished by their learning, acuteixess, and eloquence; philo- 
sophers of all sects, who taught the doctrines of Plato, Aris- 
totle, Zeno, and Epicurus; rhetoricians a!sp, and men of 
genius who instructed the youthun the rules ; of eloquence, 
and formed their taste for the liberal arts. So that those,. 
who had a passion for the study of oratory resorted in mal^ 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY. 67 

titndes to the Grecian schools, in order to perfect themselves 
in that noble science. Alexandria, in Egypt, was also much 
frequented, for the same purpose, as a great number of the 
Grecian philosophers and retoricians dwelt in that city. 

The Romans, also, at this time, made a shining figure 
among the polished and learned nations. All the sciences 
flourished at Rome. The youth of a higher rank were early 
instructed in the Greek language and eloquence. From 
thence they proceeded to the study of philosophy and the 
laws of their country; and they finished their education by a 
voyage into Greece, where they not only gave the last de- 
gree of perfection to their philosophical studies, but also 
acquired that refined wit and elegance of taste, that served 
to set off their more solid attainments in the most advantage- 
ous manner. None of the philosophical sects were more in 
vogue among the Romans than the epicureans and the aca- 
demics, which were peculiarly favored by the .great, who, 
soothed by their doctrines into a false security, indulged 
their passions without remorse, and continued in their vici- 
ous pursuits without terror. During the reign of Augustus 
the culture of polite learning and of the fine arts, was held 
in great honor, and those that contributed with zeal and suc- 
cess to this, were eminently distinguished by that prince. 
But, after his death, learning languished without encou- 
ragement, and was neglected, because the succeeding em- 
perors were more intent upon the arts of war and rapine, 
than those more amiable arts and inventions that are the 
fruits of leisure and peace. 

With respe t to the other nations, such as the Germans, 
Celts, and Bretons, it is certain that they were not destitute 
of learned andingenious men. Among the Gauls the peo- 
ple of Marseilles had long acquired a shining reputation for 
their progress in the sciences, and there is no doubt, but that 
the neighboring countries received the benefit of their instruc- 
tions. Among the OJfcs, their druids, priests, philosophers, 
and legislators were highly remarkable for their wisdom; but 
their writings at least such as are yet extant, are not suffici- 
ent to inform us of the nature of their philosophy. The Ro- 
mans indeed introduced letters and philosophy into all the 
provinces which submitted to their victorious arms, in order 
to soften the rough manners of the savage nations, and form 
in them, imperceptibly, the sentiments and. feelings of hu- 
manity 7 



68 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 



CHAPTER II. 

CONCERNING THE TEACHERS AND MINISTERS OF THE CHURCH, AND ITS 

TORM OF GOVERNMENT. 

The necessity of public teacher? — extraordinary teacher? — authority of the 
apostles — the severity disciple*- — external form of the church — church at Je^ 
rusalera — rights of the people — their oblations — equality among the first 
christians — rulers of the church — elders or bishops* — the prophets — deacons 
of the church at Jesusalem — bishops — nature of the episcopal dignity in this 
century — chorepiscopi, or country bishops— councils and metropolitans — 
the principal writers — the time the sacred canon was fixed, or the books of 
the New Testament collected into one volume— spurious writings — Clemens 
bishop of Rome — Ignatius, bishop of Antioch — Polyearp — Barnabas — cha- 
racter of the apostolic fathers, 

The great end of Christ's mission was to form a universal 
church, gathered out of all the nations of the world, and to 
extend, the limits of this great society, from age to age. But 
in order to this it was necessary, first, to appoint extraordi- 
nary teachers, who, converting the Jews and Gentiles to the 
truth, should erect everywhere christian assemblies, and 
then to establish ordinary ministers, and interpreters of the 
divine will, who should enforce and repeat the doctrines de- 
livered by the former, and maintain the people in their holy 
profession, and in the practise of the christian virtues. For 
the best system of religion must necessarily either dwindle 
to nothing, or be egregiously corrupted, if it is not perpe- 
tually inculcated and explained by a regular and standing 
ministry. 

The extraordinary teachers, whom Christ employed to lay 
the foundations of his everlasting kingdom, were the twelve 
apostles and the seventy disciples, of whom mention has 
been made above. To these the evangelists are to be added, 
by which title those were distinguished whom the apostles 
sent to instruct the nations, or who, of their own accord, 
abandoned every wordly attachment, and consecrated them- 
selves to the sacred office of propagating the gospel. In 
this rank, also, we must plaee those to whom, in the infancy 
of the church, the marvelous power of speaking in foreign 
languages, which they had never learned, was communica- 
ted from above. For, the person to whom the divine omni- 
potence and liberality had imparted the gift of tongues might 



I 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY. 69 

conclude, with the atmost assurance, from the gift itself, 
which a wise being would not besow in vain, that he was 
appointed by God to minister unto the truth, and to employ 
his talents in the service of Christianity. 

Many have undertaken to write the history of the apostles, 
a history which we find loaded with fables, doubts, and dif- 
ficulty, when we pursue it further than the books of the New 
Testament, and the most ancient writers in the christian 
church. \\\ order to have a just idea of the nature, privile- 
ges, and authority of the apostolic function, w r e must consi- 
der an apostle as a person who was honored with a divine 
commission, invested with the power of rtiaking laws, (^con- 
trolling and retraining the wicked, when that was expedient, 
and of working miracles, when necessary; and sent to man- 
kind, to unfold to them the divine zvill, to open to them the paths 
of sedvation and immortedity, and to separate from the multitudr, 
and unite, in the bonds of one sacred society, those who were at- 
tentive and obedient to the voice of God addressed to men by their 
■ministry. 

The accounts we have of the seventy disciples are still 
more obscure than those of the anostles; since the former are 

J. ' 

only once mentioned in the New Testament, Luke 10: 1. 
The illustrations that we have yet remaining, relative to 
their character and office, are certainly composed by the 
more modern Greeks, and therefore can have but little au- 
thority or credit. Their commission extended no further than 
the Jewish nation, as appears from the express -words of St. 
Luke; though it is highly probable that, after Christ's ascen- 
sion, they performed the office of evangelists, and declared 
the glad tidings of salvation, and the means of obtaining it, 
through different nations and provinces. 

Neither Christ nor his holy apostles, have commanded 
any thing clearly or expressly, concerning the external fori i 
of the church, and the precise method, according to which it 
should be governed. From this we may infer, that the regu- 
lation of this was, in some measure, to be accommodated to 
the time and left to the wisdom and prudence of the chief 
rulers, both of the state and of the church. If, however, ic 
is true, that the apostles acted by divine inspiration, and hi 
conformity wiih the commands of their blessed Master, and 
this no Christian can call in question, then it follows, that 
that form of government which the primitive churches bor- 
rowed from that of Jerusalem, the first christian assembly 



70 INTERNAL HISTORY- OF THE CHURCH. 

established by the apostles themselves, must be esteemed 
as of divine institution. But from this it would be wrong 
to conclude that such a form is immutable, and ought to be 
invariably observed; for this a great variety of events may 
render impossible. In those early times every christian church 
consisted of the people, their leaders, and the ministers or dea- 
cons, and these, indeed, belong essentially to every religious 
society. The people were undoubtedly the first in autho- 
rity; for the apostles showed, by their own example, that 
nothing w T as to be carried on or determined without the con- 
sent of the assembly,, and such a, method of proceeding was 
both prudent and necessary in those critical times. 

It was, therefore, the assembly of the people which chose 
their own rulers and teachers; or received them, by a free 
and authoritative consent, when recommended I y others. 
The same people rejected, or confirmed by their suffrages, 
the laws that were proposed by their rulers, to the assembly; 
excommunicated profligate and unworthy members of the 
church, restored the- penitent to their forfeited privileges, 
passed judgment upon the different subjects of controversy 
and dissension that arose in their community, examined and 
decided the disputes which happened between the elders and 
deacons; and, in a word, exercised all that authority which 
belongs to' such as are invested with the sovereign power. 

The people had, indeed purchased these privileges, by ad- 
ministering to the support of their rulers, ministers, and 
poor, and -by offering large and generous contributions, 
when the safety or interests of the community rendered them 
necessary. In. these supplies each one bore a part proportioned, 
to his circumstances; and the various gifts which were thus 
brought into the public assemblies, were called oblations. 

There reigned arrong the christian church, however dis- 
tinguished they were by wordly rank and titles, not only an 
amiable harmony, but also a perfect equality. This ap- 
peared by the feasts of charity, in which all were indiscrimi- 
nately assembled, by the. names of brethren and sisters, with 
which they mutually saluted each other, and by several cir- 
cumstances of a like nature. Nor in this first century was 
the distinction made between Christians of a more or less 
perfect order, which took place afterward. Whoever ac- 
knowledged Christ as the Savior of mankind, and made a, solemn 
profession of his confidence in him, was immediately baptized and 
. received into the church. But, in process of time, .when the 



TEACHERS, CHURCH GOVERNMENT, &C. 



a 



church began to flourish, and its members to increase, it was 
thought prudent and necessary to divide the Christians into 
two orders, distinguished by the names of believers and cate- 
chumens. The former were those who had been solemnly 
admitted into the church by baptism, arid in consequence 
thereof were instructed in all the mysteries of religion, had 
access to all the parts of divine worship, and were authorized 
to vote in the ecclesiastical assemblies. The latter were such 
as had not yet been dedicated to Gcd and Christ by baptism, and 
were therefore neither admitted to public prayers, nor to the holy 
communion ) nor to the ecclesiastical assemblies . 

The rulers of the church were called either presbyters or 
bishops, which two titles are, in the New Testament, un- 
doubtedly applied to the same order. These were persons 
r of eminent gravity, and such as had distinguished them- 
selves by their superior sanctity and merit. Their particular 
auctions were not always the s\ame: for, while some of them 
confined their labors to the instruction of the people, others 
contributed, in different ways, to the edification of the 
church. Hence the distinction between teaching and ruling 
presbyters has been adopted by certain learned men. But if 
ever this distinction existed, which Tneither affirm nofdenv, 
it certainly did not continue long; since it is manifest that 
St. Paul requires that all bishops or presbyters be qualified 
and ready to teach and instruct. 

Among the first professors of Christianity there were but 
few men of learning; few who had capacity enough; to insi- 
nuate into the minds of a gro^ and ignorant multitude, the 
'\vledge of divine things. Grod, therefore, in his infinite 
wisdom, judged it necessary to raise up, in many churches, 
extraordinary teachers, who were to discourse, in the pub 
upon the various points of the christian doc- 
trine, and to treat with the people, in the name of God, as 
guided by his direction, and clothed with his authority. Such 
were the prepheLs of the New Testament, an order of men 
whose commission is too much limited by the writers who 
confine it to the interpretation of the books of the Old Tes- 
tament, and especially the prophecies. For it is certain, 
that they, who claimed the rank of prophets, were invested 
with the power of c< nsuriug publicly such as had been 
guilty of ar.y irregularity. But to prevent the abuses that 
signing men might make ef this institution, by pretending 
to this extraordinary character, in order to execute unworthy 



INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 



ends, there were always present, in the public auditories, 
judges, divinely appointed, who, by certain and infallible 
marks, were able to distinguish the false prophets from the 
true. This order of prophets ceased, when the want of 
teachers, which gave rise to it, was abundantly supplied. 

The church was, undoubtedy, provided from the begin- 
ning with inferior ministers or deacons. . No society can be 
withotrt its servants, and still 'less such societies as those of 
the first Christians were. And it appears not only probable, 
but evident, that the young men, who carried away the dead 
bodies of Ananias and Sapphira, were the subordinate mi- 
nisters, or deacons, of the church of Jerusalem, who attend- 
ed the apostles to execute their orders. The first deacons of 
the church, being chosen from among the Jews who were 
born in Palestine, were suspected by the foreign Jews of par- 
tiality in distributing the otferings, which were presented for 
the support of the poor. To remedy, therefore, this disorder, 
oral other deacons were chosen, by order of the apostles, 
and employed in the service of that part of the church at Je- 
rusalem, which was composed of the foreign Jews, convert- 
ed to Christianity. Of these new ministers six were foreign- 
ers: 9f appears by their names; the seventh was chosen out 
of the proseleytes, of whom there were a certain number 
among the first Christians at Jerusalem, and to whom it was 
reasonable that some regard should be shown, in the election 
of the deacons, as well as to the foreign Jews. All the other 
christian churches followed the example of that at Jerusa- 
lem, in whatever related to the choice and office of the dea- 
cons. Some, particularly the eastern, church s, elected dea- 
con esses, and chose, for that purpose, matrons or widows of 
eminent sanctity, who also administered to the necessities 
of the poor, and performed several other offices, that tend- 
ed to the maintenance of order and decency in the church. 

Such was the constitution of the christian church in its in- 
fancy, when its assemblies were neither numerous nor splen- 
did. Three or^ four presbyters, men of remarkable piety and 
wisdom, ruled these small congregations in perfect harmo- 
ny, nor did they stand in need of any president or superior, 
to maintain concord and order, where no dissensions were 
known. But the number of the presbyters and deacons in- 
creasing with that of the churches, and the sacred work of 
the ministry growing more painful and weighty, by a num- 
ber of additional duties, these new circumstances required 



TEACHERS, CHUR6H GOVERNMENT, &C. 73 

new regulations. It was then judged necessary, that one 
man of distinguished gravity and wisdom should preside in 
the council of presbyters, in order to distribute among his 
colleagues their several tasks, and to be a centre of union 
to the whole society. This person was at first styled the 
of the church to which he belonged, but was afterward 

■ anguished by the name of bisiiop, or inspector; a name 
borrowed from the Greek language, and expressing the prin- 
cipal part of the episcopal function, which was to inspect; 
into and superintend the affairs of the church. It is highly 
probable, that the church of.Jerusalem, grown considerably 
numerous, and deprived of the ministry of the apostles, who 
were gone to instruct the other nations, was the first which 
chose a president or bishop. And it is no less probable that 
the other churches followed by degrees such a respectable 
example. 

Let none, however, confound the bishops of this primi- 
tive church with those of whom w r e read in the following 
ages. For, though they were both distinguished by the 
same name, yet they differed extremely, and that in many 
respects. A bishop, during the first and second century, 
was a person who had the care of one christian assembly. 
which, at that time, was, generally speaking, small enough 
to be contained in a private house. In this assembly he acted 
not so much with the authority of a master, as with the zeal 
and diligence of a faithful servant. He instructed the peo- 
ple, performed the several parts of divine worship, attend- 
ed the sick, and inspected into the circumstances and sup- 
plies of the poor, tie charged, indeed, the presbyters with 
the performance of those duties and services, which the 
multiplicity of his engagements rendered it impossible for 
him to fulfil; but had not the power to decide or enact any 
thing, without the consent of the presbyters and people. 
And, though the episcopal office was both laborious and sin- 
gularly dangerous, yet its revenues were extremely small, 
since the church had no certain income, but depended upon 
the gifts or oblations of the multitude, which were, no doubt, 
inconsiderable, and were, moreover, to be divided between 
the bishops, presbyters, deacons, and poor. 

The power and jurisdiction of the bishops were not lonur 
contined to these narrow limits, but soon extended them- 
selves, and that by the following means. The bishops, who 
lived in the cities, had, either by their own ministry or that. 



74 t'W&ft&K&L"- W&TdRY OF ; THE' CHURCH. 

of their presbyters, erected new churches in the Neighbor- 
ing towns and villages. These churches, continuing under 
the inspection* and ministry of the bishops, by whose labors 
and counsels they had been induced to embrace the gospel, 
grew imperceptibly into church provinces, which the Greeks 
afterwards called dioceses. But as the bishop of the city 
could not extend his labors and inspection to all these church- 
es in the country and in the villages, so he appointed cer- 
•tain suffragans or deputies to govern and- instruct these new 
societies; and they were distinguished by the title. of chore- 
piscopi, i, e. cou&try bishops. This order held the middle 
rank between bishops and presbyters* being inferior to the 
former, and superior to the latter. 

The churches, in those ancient times, were entirely inde- 
pendent; none of Jvm subject to any jurudicUoit , tut ttach mm 
governed by its own rulers and its own laws. For, though tKfe 
churches, founded by the apostles, had this particular de- 
ference shown them, that they were consulted in difficult 
and doubtful cases, yet they had no judicial authority over 
the others, nor the least right to enact laws for them. No- 
thing, on the contrary, is more evident than the perfect equal- 
ity that reigned among the primitive churches, from w T hich 
councils and metropolitans derive their origin. 4t was only in 
the second century that the custom of holding councils com- 
menced in Greece, from whence it soon spread through the 
other provinces. 

The principal place among the christian teachers, and 
among those also who, by their writings, were instrumental 
in the progress of the truth, is due to the apostles, and cer- 
tain of their disciples, who were set apart and inspired by 
God, to record the actions of Christ and his apostles. The 
writings of these holy men, which are comprehended in 
the books of the New Testament, ate in the hands of .all 
who profess 'themselves Christians. Those who are desirous 
of particular information with respect to the history of these 
sacred books, and the arguments which, provet heir divine au- 
thority, their genuineness and purity, must consult the 
learned authors who have written professedly upon that 
matter. 

The opinions, or rather the conjectures, of the learned, 

concerning the time when the books of the New Testament 

were collected into one volume, as also about the authors 

*ef that collection, are extremely different. This important 



TEACHERS, CHURCH' GO VERXMENt, &C» 75 

question is attended with great and almost insuperable diffi- 
culties to us, in these latter times. It is, however, sufficient 
for us to know, that, before the middle of the second centu- 
ry, the greatest part of the books of the New Testament 
were read in every christian society throughout the world, 
and received as a divine rule of faith and manners. Hence 
it appears, that these sacred writings were carefully sepa- 
rated from several human compositions upon the same sub- 
ject, either by some of the apostles themselves, who lived 
so long, or by their disciples and successors, who were spread 
abroad through all nations. We are well assured, that the 
lour gospels were collected during the life of St. John, and 
that the three first received the approbation of this divine 
apostle. And why may we not suppose the other books of 
the New Testament were gathered together a,t the sarnr 
time? 

What renders this highly probable is, that the most urgent 
necessity required its being done. For, not long after Christ's 
ascension into heaven, several histories of his life and doc- 
trines, full of pious frauds and fabulous wonders, were com- 
posed, by persons whose intentions, perhaps, were not bad, 
but whose writings displayed the greatest superstition and 
ignorance. Nor was this all; productions appeared which 
were imposed on the world by fraudulent men, as the wri- 
tings of the holy apostles. These apocryphal and spurious 
writings must have produced a sad confusion, and rendered 
both the history and doctrine of Christ uncertain, had not 
the rulers of the church used all possible care and diligence 
in separating the* books that were truly apostolical and di- 
vine from all that spurious trash, and conveying them down 
to posterity in one volume. 

The writer whose fame surpassed that of all others in this 
century, the apostles excepted, was Clemens, bishop ot 
Rome. The accounts which remain of his life, actions, and 
death are for the most part uncertain. Two Epistles to the 
Corinthians, written in Greek, have been attributed to him, 
of which the second has been looked upon as spurious, and 
the first as genuine, by many learned writers. But even this 
latter seems to have been corrupted and interpolated by 
some ignorant and presumptuous author, who appears to 
have been displeased at observing a defect of learning and 
genius, in the writings of so "Teat a man as Clemens. 

The learned are now unanimous in regarding the other 



76 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

writings which bear the name of Clemens, viz. the Apostolic 
Canons, the Apostolic Constitutions, the Recognitions of Clem- 
ens and Clementina, as spurious productions ascribed by 
some impostor to this venerable prelate, in order to procure 
them a high degree of authority. The Apostolical Canons, 
which consist of eighty-five chnrJi lams, contain a view of 
the church government and discipline received among the 
Greek and oriental Christians in the second and third cen- 
tury. The eight books of Apostolical Constitutions are the 
works of some austere and melancholy author, who, having* 
taken it into his head to reform the christian worship, which 
he looked upon as degenerated from its original purity, 
made no scruple to prefix to his rules the names of the 
apostles, that thus they might be more speedily and favora- 
bly received. The Recognitions of Clemens, which differ 
very little from the Clementina, are the witty and agreeable 
productions of an Alexandrian Jew, well versed in philoso- 
phy. They were written in the third century, with a design 
to answer, in a new manner, the objections of the Jews, 
philosophers and gnostics, against the christian religion; and 
the careful perusal of them will be extremely useful to such 
as are curious of information with respect to the state of the 
christian church in the primitive times. 

Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, succeeds Clemens in the list 
of the Apostolic Fathers, among whom were placed such 
christian teachers as had conversed with the apostles them- 
selves, or their disciples. This pious and venerable man, 
who was the disciple and familiar friend of the apostles, 
was, by the order of Trajan, brought to Rome, and exposed 
to wild be&sts in the public theatre, where he suffered mar- 
tyrdom with the utmost constancy. There are yet extant 
several epistles, attributed to him, concerning the authenti- 
city of which there have been, however, tedious and warm 
disputes among the learned, which still subsist. Of these 
epistles, seven are said to have been written by this emi- 
nent martyr, during his journey from Antioch to Rome; and 
these tfhe most of learned men acknowledged to be genuine, 
as they stand in the edition published in the last century 
frbma manuscript in the Medicean library. The others are 
generally rejected as spurious. As to my own sentiments of 
this matter, though I am willing to adopt this opinion as 
preferable to any other, yet 1 cannot help looking upon the 
authenticity of the Epistle to Polycarp as extremely dubious, 



TEACHERS, CHURCH GOVERNMENT, &C. t i 

on account of the difference of style; and, indeed, the whole 
question, relating to the epistles of St. Ignatius in general, 
seems to me to labor under much obscurity, and to be em- 
barrassed with many difficulties. 

The Epistle to the PhUippians which is ascribed to Polycarp 
bishop of Smyrna, who, in the middle of the second centu- 
ry, suffered martyrdom in a venerable and advanced age, is 
looked upon by some as genuine; by others, as spurious; and 
it is no easy matter to determine this question. The Episth 
of Barnabas was the production of some Jew, who, most 
probably, lived in this century, and whose mean abilities 
and superstitious attachment to Jewish fables show, not- 
withstanding the uprightness of his intentions, that he must 
have been a very different person from the true Barnabas, 
who was St. Paul's companion. The work which is entitled 
The Shepherd e>f Hermas, because the angel, who bears the 
principal part in it, is represented in the form and habit of 
a shepherd, was composed in the second century by Hermas. 
who was brother to Pius, bishop of Rome. This whimsical 
and visionary writer has taken the liberty to invent several 
dialogues or conversations between God and the angels, in 
order to insinuate, in a more easy and agreeable manner, 
the precepts which he thought useful and salutary, into the 
minds of his readers. But indeed the discourse, which he 
puts into the mouths of those celestial beings, is more insipid 
and senseless than what we commonly hear among the 
meanest of the multitude. 

We may here remark in general, that those apostolic fa- 
thers, and the other writers, who in the infancy of the church, 
employed their pens in the cause of Christianity, were nei- 

;• remarkable for their learning nor their eloquence. On 
the contrary, they express the most pious and admirable 
sentiments in the plainest and most illiterate style. This, 
indeed, is rather a matter of honor than of reproach to the 
christian cause; since we see, from the conversion of a 

at part of mankind to the gospel by weak and illiterate 
men. that the progress of Christianity is not to be attributed 
to human means, but to a divine power. 



78 lOTERNAly HISTORY OF THE CHWJtCH. . 

CHAPTER III. 

CONCERNING THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. , 

Nature of the christian religion — method of interpreting the Scriptures — of 
teaching religion — the Apostles' creed — catechumens and believers — care 
of the youth among the first Christians — secret doctrines — lives of the first 
Christians — excommunication—controversies among Christians--term s of 
acceptance — Judaizmg Christians. 

Tile whole of the Christian religion is comprehended in 
two great points, of which the first regards what we are to 
believe, and the other relates to our conduct and actions; or, 
to express the matter more briefly, the gospel presents to us 
objects of faith and rules of practice. The former are ex- 
pressed by the apostles by the term mystery or the truth; and 
the latter by that of godliness or piety. The, rule and stan- 
dard of both are those books which contain the Revelation, 
that God made of his will to persons chosen for that pur- 
pose, whether before- or after the birth of Christ. And these 
divine books are usually called The Old and New Testament. 

The Apostles and their disciples took all possible care, and 
that in the earliest times of the church, that these sacred 
books might be in the hands of all Christians, that they 
might be read and explained in the assemblies of the faith- 
ful and thus contribute, both in .private and in public, to ex- 
cite and nourish in th$ minds of Christians a fervent zeal 
far the truth, and a firm^attachment to the ways of piety and 
virtue. Those who performed the office of interpreters, 
studied above all things plainness and perspicuity. At the 
same time it must be acknowledged, that, even in this cen- 
tury, several Christians adopted that absurd and corrupt 
custom, used among the Jews, of darkening the plain words 
of the holy Scriptures by insipid and forced allegories, and 
of drawing them violently from their proper and natural 
signification, in order to extort from them certain mysterious 
and hidden significations. For a proof of this, we need go 
no farther than the epistle of B&rnabas, which is yet extant. 

The method of teaching the sacred doctrines of religion 
was at this time, most simple, far removed from all the sub- 
tle rules of philosophy, and all the precepts of human art. 
This appears abundantly, not only in the writings of the 
apo^leSji>^als^:inail,thos« of the second century, which 



SQCTRINE OF *&E CHURCH. 79 ' 

have survived the ruins of time. Neither did the apostles, or 
their disciples, ever think of collecting into a regular system 
the principal doctrines of the christian religion, or of demon- 
strating them in a geometrical order. The beautiful and 
candid simplicity of these early ages rendered such philo- 
sophical niceties unnecessary; and the great study of those 
who embraced the gospel was rather to express its divine 
influence in their dispositions and actions, than to examine 
its doctrines with an excessive curiosity, or to explain them 
by the rules of human wisdom. 

There is indeed extant, a brief summary of the principal 
doctrines of Christianity in that form, which bears the name 
of the Apostles' Creed, and which, from the fourth century 
downward, was almost generally considered as a production 
of the apostles. All, however, who have the least knowledge 
of antiquity, look upon this opinion as entirely false and 
destitute of all foundation. There is much more reason 
and judgment in the opinion of those, who think that this 
creed was not all composed at once, but from small begin- 
nings was imperceptibly augmented in proportion to the 
growth of heresy, and according to the exigencies and cir- 
cumstances of the church, from whence it was designed to 
banish the errors that daily arose. 

In the earliest times of the church, all who professed firm- 
ly to believe that Jesus was the only Redeemer of the world, 
and who, in consequence of this profession, promised to live 
in a manner conformable to the purity of his holy religion, 
were immediately received among the disciples of Christ. 
This icas all the preparation for baptism then recpiired; and a 
more accurate instruction in the doctrines of Christianity 
was to be administered to them after their receiving that sa- 
crament. But when Christianity had acquired more con- 
sistence, and churches rose to the true God and his eternal 
Son, almost in every nation, this custom was changed for 
the wisest and most solid reasons. Then none were admit- 
ted to baptism, but such as had been previously instructed in 
the principal points of Christianity, and had also given sat- 
isfactory proofs of pious dispositions and upright intentions. 
Hence arose the distinction.between ceitcchumcns who are in 
a state of probation, and under the instruction of , persons 
appointed for that r>urpos2>and belkvers, who were consecra- 
ted by baptism, and thus initiated, into all the mysteries of 
the christian faith. 



80 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

The methods of instructing the catechumens differed accor- 
ding to their various capacites. Those in whom the natural 
force of reason was small, were taught no more than the 
fundamental principles and truths, which are, as it were, the 
basis of Christianity. Those, on the contrary, whom their 
instructors judged capable of comprehending, in some mea- 
sure, the whole system of divine truth, were furnished with 
superior degrees of knowledge; and nothing was concealed 
from them, which could have any tendency to render them 
firm in their profession, and to assist them in arriving at chris- 
tian perfection. The care of instructing such was commit- 
ted to persons who were distinguished by their gravity and 
wisdom, and also by their learning and judgment. And 
from hence it comes, that the ancient doctors generally divide 
their flock into two classes; the one comprehending such as 
were solidly and thoroughly instructed, the other, those who 
were acquainted with little more than the first principles of 
religion: nor do they deny that the methods of instruction 
applied to these two sorts of persons were extremely differ- 
ent. 

The christians took all possible care to accustom their 
children to the study of the Scriptures, and to instruct them 
in the doctrines of their holy religion; and Schools were ev- 
erywhere erected for this purpose, even from the very com- 
mencement of the christian church. We must not, howev- 
er, confound the schools designed only for children, with the 
gymnasia, or acadamies of the ancient Christians, erected 
in several large cities, in which persons of riper years, es- 
pecially such as aspired to be public teachers, were instruc- 
ted in the different branches bojth of human learning, and f)f 
sacred erudition. We may, undoubtedly, attribute to the 
apostles themselves, and their injunctions to their disciples, 
the excellent establishments, in which the youth destined to 
the holy ministry received an education suitable to the so- 
lemn office they were to undertake. St. John erected a school 
of this kind atEphesus, and one of the same nature was foun- 
ded by Polycarp at Smyrna. But none of these were in 
greater repute than that which was established at Alexandria, 
which was commonly called the catechetical school , and is 
generally supposed to have been erected by St. Mark. 

The ancient Christians are supposed by many to have had 
si secret doctrine; and if by this be meant, that they did not 
teach all in the same manner, or reveal all at once, and to 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 81 

all indiscriminately, the sublime mysteries of religion, there 
is nothing in this that may not be fully justified. It wo old 
have been improper, for example, to propose to those, wno 
were yet to be converted to Christianity, the more diffieuk 
doctrines of the gospel, which surpass the comprehension pf 
imperfect mortals. Such were, therefore, first instructed in 
those points which are more obvious and plain, until they 
became capable of more difficult attainments in religious 
knowledge. Nay, more; even those who were already ad- 
mitted into the society of Christians, were, in point of in- 
struction, differently dealt with according to their respec- 
tive capacities. Those who consider the secret doctrine of 
this century in any other light, or give to it a greater extern 
than what we have here attributed to it, confound the super- 
stitious practices of the following ages, with the simplicity 
of the discipline which prevailed at the time of which we 
write. 

The lives and manners of the Christians in this century, 
are highly celebrated by most authors, and recommended to 
suceeding generations as unspotted models of piety and 
virtue. And if these encomiums be confined to the great- 
est part of those, who embraced Christianity in the infancy 
of the church, they are certainly distributed with justice. 
But many run into extremes upon this head, and estimating 
the lives and manners of all by the illustrious examples of 
some eminent saints, or the sublime precepts and exhorta- 
tions of certain pious teachers, fondly imagine that every 
appearance of vice and disorder were banished from the 
first christian societies. The greatest part of those authors, 
who have written concerning the innocence and sanctity of 
the primitive Christians, have fallen into this agreeable 
error. And a gross error indeed it is, as the strongest testi- 
monies too evidently prove. 

One of the circumstances which contributed chiefly to 
preserve at least an external appearance of sanctity in th<^ 
christian church, was the right of excluding from thence. 
and from all participation of the sacred rites and ordinances 
of the gospel, such as had been guilty of enormous trans- 
gressions, and to whom repeated exhortations to repentance 
and amendment had been administered in vain. This right 
was vested in the church, from the earliest period of its ex- 
istence, by the apostles themselves, and was exercised by 
each christian assembly upon its respective members. The 

f* 



82 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

rulers or teachers denounced the persons whom, they thought 
worthy of the privileges of church communion, and the peo- 
, freely approving or rejecting their judgment, jpronounced 
the decisive sentence. It was not, however, irrevocable; for 
such as gave undoubted signs of their sincere repentance, 
and declared their solemn resolutions of future reformation, 
were re-admitted into the church, however enormous their 
crimes had been; but in case of a relapse, their second ex-, 
elusion became irreversible. 

It will easily be imagined, that unity and peace could., no fc 
reign long in the church, since it was composed of Jews and 
Gentiles, who regarded each other with the bitterest aver- 
sion. Beside, as the converts to Christianity could not ex- 
tirpate radically the prejudices which had been formed in 
their minds by education, and confirmed by time, they 
brought with them into the bosom of the church more or less 
of the errors of their former religions. Thus the seeds of 
discord and controversy were early sown, and could not fail 
to spring up soon into animosities and dissensions, wdiich 
accordingly broke out and divided the church. The first of 
these contoversies, which was set on foot in the church of 
Antioch, regarded the necessity of observing the law of 
Moses, and its issue is mentioned by St. Lpke, in the Acta 
of the Apostles. This controversy was followed by many 
others, either with the J©ws, who were violently attached 
to the worship of their ancestors, or with the votaries of a 
wild and fanatical sort of philosophy, or with such as mis- 
taking the true genius of the christian religion, abused it 
monstrously to the encouragement of their vices, and the 
indulgence of their appetites and passions. St. Paul and 
the other apostles, have, in several places of their writings, 
mentioned these controversies, but with such brevity, that it 
is difficult, at this distance of time, to come at the true state 
of the question in these various disputes. 

The most weighty and important of all these controver- 
sies was that which certain Jewish teachers raised at Rome 
and in other christian churches, concerning the means of 
justification and acceptance with God, and the method of 
salvation pointed out in the word of God. The apostles, 
wherever they exercised their ministry, had constantly de- 
clared all hopes of acceptance and salvation delusive, ex- 
cept such as were founded on Jesus the Redeemer, and hk* 
all sufficient mci^iis. while the Jewish teachers maintained 



RITES AND CEREMONIES, 83 

the works of the law to be the true efficient cause of the 
soul's eternal salvation and felicity. This latter sentiment 
not only led to many other errors extremely prejudicial to 
Christianity, but was also injurious to the glory of the divine 
Savior. For those who looked upon a course of life con- 
formable to the law as a meritorious title to eternal happi- 
ness, could not consider Christ as the Son of God, and the 
Savior of mankind, but only as an eminent prophet, or a di- 
vine messenger, sent from above, to. enlighten and instruct 
a darkened world. It is not, therefore, surprising, that St. 
Paul took so much pains in his epistle to the Romans, - 
in his other writings, to extirpate such a pernicious and ca* 

oital error. 

i 

The controversy that had been raised concerning the ne- 
cessity of obeying the Mosaic law, was determined by the 
apostles in the wisest and most prudent manner. Their au- 
thority, however, respectable as it was, had not its full effect. 
For the prejudices which the Jews, especially those who 
lived in Palestine, entertained in favor of the Mosaic law, 
and their ancient worship, were so deeply rooted in their 
minds, that they could not be thoroughly removed. The 
force of these prejudices was indeed somewhat diminished 
after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the ruin of the tem- 
ple, but not entirely destroyed. And hence, as we shall see 
in its place, a part of the judaizing Christians separated 
themselves from the rest, and formed a particular sect, dis- 
tinguished by their adherence to the law of Moses. 



CHAPTER W\ 

CONCERNING THE RITES AND CEREMONIES USED IN THE CHURCH DURING 

THIS CENTURY. 

Baptism and Lord's supper — apostolic rites — Jewish rites retained in several 
places — public assemblies of Christians — public wor&hip — Lord's supper 
feasts of charity — baptism — anointing the sick — fasting. 

The christian religion was singularly commendable on 
account of its beautiful and divine simplicity, which ap- 
pears from the two great and fundamental principles oa 
which it was built, viz. faith and charity This simplicity. 



84 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

was not, however, incompatible with certain external rights 
and positive institutions, which, indeed, are necessary, in this 
imperfect state, to keep alive a sense of religion in the minds 
of men. The rites instituted by Christ himself were only two 
in number, and these designed to continue to the end of the 
church here below, without any variation. These rites were 
baptism and the holy supper, which are not to be considered 
as mere ceremonies, nor yet as symbolic representations on- 
ly, but also as ordinances accompanied with a sanctifying in- 
iluence upon the heart and the affections of true Christians. 
And we cannot help observing here, that since the divine 
Savior thought fit to appoint no more than two plain insti- 
tutions in his church, this shows us that a number of cere- 
monies is not essential to his religion, and that he left it to 
the free and prudent choice of Christians to establish such 
rites as the circumstances of the times, or the exigencies of 
the church might require. 

There are several circumstances which incline us to think 
that the friends and apostles of our blessed Lord either to- 
lerated through necessity, or appointed for wise reasons, 
many other external rites in various places. At the same 
time we are not to imagine that they ever conferred upon 
any person a perpetual, indelible, pontifical authority, or 
that they enjoined the same rites in all churches. We learn, 
on the contrary, from authentic records, that the christian 
worship was, from the beginning, celebrated in a different 
manner, in different places, and that, no doubt by the or- 
ders, or, at least, with the approbation, of the apostfes and 
their disciples. In these early times it was both wise and 
necessary to show, in the establishment of outward forms 
of worship some indulgence to the ancient opinions, man- 
ners, and laws of the respective nations, to whom the gos- 
pel was preached. 

From, hence it follows that the opinion of those who main- 
tain that the Jewish rites w 7 ere adopted everpohcre in the 
christian churches* by the apostles or their disciples, is des- 
titute of all foundation. In those christian societies which 
were totally ot principally composed of Jewish converts, it 
was natural to retain as much of the Jewish ritual as the ge- 
nius of Christianity would suffer, and a multitude t>f exam- 
ples testify that this was actually done. But that the same 
translation of Jewish rites should take place in christian 
Cuurch. s, where there were no Jews, or a very small and in- 



SUTES AND CEREMONIES. 85 

considerable number, is utterly incredible, because it was 
morally impossible, hi a word, the external form of wor- 
ship, used in the times of old, must necessarily have been 
Regulated and modified according to the character, genius. 

d manners of the different nations on which the light of the 
gospel shone. 

Since, then, there was such a variety in the ritual and 
discipline of the primitive churches, it must be very difficult 
to give an account of the worship, manners, and institutions 
•of the ancient Christians as will agree with what was practised 
in all those countries where the gospel flourished. There are, 
notwithstanding, certain laws, whose authority and obliga- 
tion were universal and indispensable, among all Christians, 
and of these we shall here give a brief account. 

All Christians were unanimous in setting apart the first 
day of the week, on which the triumphant Savior arose 
from the dead, for the solemn celebration of public worship. 
The pious custom, which was derived from the example of 
the church of Jerusalem, was founded upon the express ap- 
pointment of the apostles, who consecrated that day to the 
-same sacred purpose, &nd was observed universally through- 
out all the Christian churches, as appears from the united 
testimonies of the most credible writers. The seventh day 
of the week was also observed as a festival not by the Chris- 
tians in general, but by such churches only as were princi- 
pally composed of Jewish converts, nor did the other Chris- 
tians censure this custom as criminal and unlawful. It ap- 
pears, moreover, that all the christian churches observed two 
great anniversary festivals: the one in memory of Christ's 
glorious resurrection; and the other to commemorate the de- 
scent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles. To these we 
may add the days on which the blessed martyrs laid down 
their lives for the truth, which days were probably dignified 
with particular solemnities and marks of veneration from 
the earliest times. 

The places in which the first Christians assembled to cele- 
brate divine worship, were, no doubt, the houses of private 
persons. But in process of time, it became necessary, that 
these sacred assemblies should be confined to one fixed place, 
in which the books, tables, and desks, required in divine ser- 
vice, might be constantly kept, and the danger avoided, 
which, in those perilous times, attended their transportation 
from one place to DJiothcr. And then, probably, the places 



TO INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

of meeting, that had formerly belonged to private persons, 
became the property of the whole christian community. — 
These few remarks are, in my opinion, sufficient to deter- 
mine that question, which has been so long and so tedious- 
ly debated, viz. whether the jirst Christians had churches or not! 
Since if any are pleased to give the name of church to a 
house, or the part of a house, which, though appointed as 
the place of religious worship, was neither separated from 
common use, nor considered as holy ki the opinion of the 
people, it will be readily granted that the most ancient 
Christians had churches. 

In these assemblies the holy scriptures were publicly read, 
and for that purpose were divided into certain portions or 
lessons. This part of divine service was followed by a brief 
exhortation to the people in w r hich eloquence and art gave 
place to the natural and fervent expression of zeal and 
charity. If any declared themselves extraordinarily anima- 
ted by the Holy Spirit, they were permitted to explain suc- 
cessively the divine will, while the -other prophets, who were 
present, decided how much weight and authority was to be 
attributed to what they said. The prayers, which made a 
considerable part of the public worship, came in at the con- 
clusion of these discourses, and were repeated by the bish- 
op or presbyter, who presided in the service. To these were 
added certain hymns, which were sung not by the whole as- 
sembly, but by persons appointed for that purpose, during 
the celebration of the Lord's supper, and the feasts of cha- 
rity. Such were the essential parts of divine worship, which 
were observed in all christian churches, though perhaps the 
method and order in which they were performed, were not 
the same in all. 

The prayers of the first Christians were followed by obla** 
iionsof bread, wine, and other things ; and hence both th® 
ministers of the church, and the poor derived their subsis- 
tence. Every Christian, who was in an opulent condition, 
and indeed every one, according to their circumstances,, 
brought with them their gifts, and offered them as it were 
unto the Lord. Of the bread and wine, presented in these 
offerings, such a quantity was separated from the rest, as was- 
required in the administration of the Lord's supper; this was 
consecrated by certain prayers pronounced by the M»hop» 
alone, to which the people assented by saying Amen. The 
Last supper was distributed by the dcaeGm^&Yid this sacred itt.~ 



RITE? AND CEREtfONIES^ 87 

stitution was followed by sober repasts, which from the ex- 
cellent end they were designed to promote, were, called aga- 
pcB, or feasts of charity. Many attempts have been made to 
tix precisely the nature of these social feasts. But here it 
must be again considered, that the rites and customs of the 
primitive Christians were very different in different countries, 
and that consequently these feasts, like other institutions, 
were not everywhere celebrated in the same manner. — • 
This is the true and only way of explaining all the difficul- 
ties that can arise upon this subject. 

The sacrament of baptism was administered in this centu- 
ry, without the public assemblies, in places appointed and 
prepared for that purpose, and was performed by immersion 
of the whole body m the baptismal font. At first it was 
usual for all who labored in the propagation of the gospel, 
to be present at that solemn ceremony; and it was customa- 
ry, that the converts should be baptized and received into 
the church by those under whose ministry they had embraced 
the Christian doctrine. But this custom was soon changed. 
When the Christian churches were established, and governed 
by a system of fixed laws, the right of baptizing christian, 
converts was vested in the bishop alone. This right, indeed., 
lie conferred upon the presbyter's and c/iorepiscopi, or country 
bishops, when the bounds of the church were still further en- 
larged, reserving however to himself, the confirmation of the 
baptism, which was administered by a presbyter. There 
were, doubtless, several circumstantial rites and ceremonies 
observed in the administration of this sacrament, for the sake 
of order and decency. Of these, however, it is not easy, 
nor perhaps possible, to give a certain or satisfactory ac- 
count; since, upon this subject, we are too much exposed to 
the illusion, which arises from confounding the customs of 
the primitive times with those of succeeding ages. 

Those who were visited with violent or dangerous disor- 
ders, sent, according to the apostle's direction, for the rulers of 
the church, and, after confessing their sins, were recommend- 
ed by them to the divine mercy in prayers full of piety and 
fervor, and were anointed with oil. This rite has occa- 
sioned many debates, and indeed they must be endless, since 
the silence of the ancient writers upon that head renders it 
impossible to decide the matter, with any degree of certain- 
ty. The anointing the sick is rarely mentioned in the an- 
cient records of the church, though there is no reason to 



88 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

doubt of its having been a universal custom among Chris- 
tians. 

Neither Christ nor his apostles enacted any law concern- 
ing fasting. A custom, however, prevailed among many 
Christians, of joining abstinence with their prayers, especi- 
ally when they were engaged in affairs of extraordinary mo- 
ment and importance. As this custom was authorized by no 
public law, the time that was to be employed in these acts 
of abstinence was left to every one's private judgment, nor 
were those looked upon as criminal, who contented them- 
selves with observing the rules of strict temperance, without 
going any further. In the most ancient times we find no 
mention of any public and solemn fasts, except upon the 
anniversary of Christ's crucifixion. But in process of time, 
days of fasting were gradually introduced, first by custom, 
and afterward by positive appointment; though it is not cer- 
tain what those days were, nor whether they were observed 
in the first century. Those, notwithstanding, who affirm that, 
in the time of the apostles, or soon after, the fourth and sixth 
days of the week were observed as fasts, are not, it must be 
acknowledged, destitute of specious arguments, in favor of 
their opinion. 



CHAPTER V. 

CONCERNING THE DIVISIONS AND THE HERESIES WHICH TROUBLED THE 
CHURCH DURING THIS PERIOD. 

Sqcte formed in the apostles' tioae — the Gnostics sprung from the oriental phi- 
losophy—their pernicious errors concerning the scriptures — their moral doc- 
trines— dissensions among this sect — Dositheus — Simon Magus — his history 
and doctrines — Menander — Nicolaitans — Cerinthians — Nazarenes — E Olen- 
ites. 

The christian church was scarcely formed, when in diffe- 
rent places there started up pretended reformers, who, not 
satisfied with the simplicity of that religion which was taught 
by the apostles, meditated changes of doctrine and worship 
and set up a new religion drawn from their own licentious 
imaginations. This we learn from the writings of the apos- 
tles, and particularly from the epistles of St. Paul, where 
we find that some were for forcing the doctrines of Christia- 
nity into a conformity with the philosophical systems they 
had adopted, while others were as siudkms Iq blend with 



DIVISIONS AXD HERESIES. 89 

these doctrines the opinions, customs, and traditions of the 
Jews. Several of these are mentioned by the apostles, such 
as Hvmenseus, Alexander. Philetes, Hermogenes, Demas. 
and Diotrephes; though the four last are rather to be consi- 
dered as apostates from the truth than as corrupters of it. 

The influence of these new teachers was but inconsiderable 
at first. During the lives of the apostles, their attempts 
towards the perversion of Christianity were attended with 
Httle success, and the number of their followers was exceed- 
ing small. They, however, acquired credit and strength by 
degrees, and even from the first dawn of the gospel, laid, 
imperceptibly, the foundations of those sects, whose animo- 
sities and disputes produced afterward such trouble and per- 
plexity in the christian church. The true state of these divi- 
sions is more involved in darkness than any other part of ec- 
clesiastical history; and this obscurity proceeds partly from 
the want of ancient records, partly irom the abstruse and 
unintelligible nature <of the doctrines that distinguished these 
various sects, and finally, from the ignorance and prejudi- 
ces of those who have transmitted to us the accounts of them 
which are yet extazit. Of one thing, indeed, we are cer- 
tain; and that is, that the most of these doctrines are chi- 
merical and extravagant in the highest degree; and so far 
from containing anything that could recommend them to a 
lover of truth, that they rather deserve to occupy a place in 
the history of human delusion and folly. 

Among the various sects that troubled the tranquillity of 
the christian church, the leading one was that of the gnos- 
tics. These enthusiastic and se If- su flic vent philosophers 
boasted of their being able to restore mankind to the know- 
ledge, gnosis, of the true and Supreme Being, which had 
been lost in the world. They also foretold the approaching 
defeat of the coil principle, to whom they attributed the crea- 
tion of this globe, and declared, in the most pompous terms, 
the destruction of his associates and the ruin of his empire. 
An opinion has prevailed, derived from the authority of Cle- 
mens, the Alexandrian, that the first rise of the gnostic sect 
is to be dated after the death of the apostles, and placed un- 
der the reign of the emperor Adrian; and it is also alleged 
that, before this time the church enjoyed a perfect tranquil- 
lity, undisturbed by sects of any kind. But the smallest 
degree of attention to the language of the holy scriptures, 
not to mention the authority ctf other ancient records, will 



90 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE eHURCH. 

prevent our adopting this groundless notion. For, from se- 
veral passages of tibe sacred writings, it evidently appears, 
that, even in the first century, the general- meetingof Chris- 
tians was deserted, and separate assemblies formed in seve- 
ral places by persons infected with the gnostic heresy; though 
at the same time it must be acknowledged, that this perni- 
cious sect was not conspicuous, either for its number or its re- 
putation, before the time of Adrian. It is proper-just to ob- 
serve here, that under the general appellation of gnostics 
are comprehended all those who. in the first ages of Chris- 
tianity, corrupted the doctrine of the gospel by a profane 
mixture of the tenets of the oriental philosophy, concerning 
the origin of evil and the creation of the world, with its di- 
vine truths. 

It was from this oriental philosophy, of which the leading 
principles have been already mentioned, that the christian 
gnostics derived their origin. If it was one of the chief te- 
nets of this philosophy that rational souls were imprisoned 
in corrupt matter, contrary to the will of the Supreme De- 
ity, there were, however, in this same system, other doc=- 
trines, which promised a deliverance from this deplorable 
state of servitude and darkness. The oriental sages expect- 
ed the arrival of an extraordinary messenger of the Most 
High upon earth; a messenger invested with a divine autho- 
rity, endowed with the most eminent sanctity and wisdom, 
and peculiarly appointed, to enlighten, with the knowledge 
of the Supreme Being, the darkened minds of miserable 
mortals, and to deliver them from the chains of the tyrants 
and usurpers of this world. When, therefore, some of these 
philosophers perceived that Christ and his apostles wrought 
miracles of the most amazing kind, and also of the most sa- 
lutary nature to mankind, they were easily induced to be^- 
lieve that he was the great messenger expected from above^ 
to deliver men from the power of the malignant genii, or 
spirits, to which, according to their doctrine, the world was 
subjected, and to free their souls from the dominion of cor- 
rupt matter. This supposition once admitted, they inter- 
preted, or rather corrupted, all the precepts and doctrines 
of Christ and his apostles, in such a manner, as to reconcile 
them with their own pernicious tenets. 

From the false principle abovementioned arose, as it was 
but natural to expect, a multitude of sentiments and notions 
most remote from the tenor of the gospel doctrines, and the 



MVISIONS AND HERESIES. 91 

nature of its precepts. The gnostic doctrine, concerning the 
creation of the world, by one or more inferior beings of an 
evil, or at least of an imperfect nature, led that sect to deny 
the divine authority of the books of the Old Testament, 
whose accounts of the origin of things s'o palpably contra- 
dicted this idle fiction. Through a frantic aversion to these 
sacred books, they lavished their encomiums upon the ser- 
pent^ the first author of sin, and held in veneration some of 
the most impious and profligate persons, of whom mention 
ts made h> sacred history. The pernicious influence of their 
fundamental principle carried them to all sorts of extrava- 
gance, filled them with an abhorrence of Moses and the re- 
ligion he taught, and made them assert that, in imposing 
such a system of disagreeable and severe laws upon the 
Jews, he was only actuated by the malignant author of this 
world, who consulted his own- glory and authority, and not 
the real advantage of men. Their persuasion that evil re- 
sided in matter, as its centre and source, prevented their 
treating the body with that regard that is due to it, rendered 
them unfavorable to wedlock, as the means by which corpo- 
real beings are multiplied, and led them to reject the doc- 
trine of the resurrection of the body, and its future reunion 
with the immortal spirit. TSeir notion, that malevolent genii 
presided in nature, and that,. from them proceeded all disea- 
ses and calamities, wars, and desolations, induced them to 
apply themselves to the study of magic, to weaken the pow- 
ers, or suspend the influences of these malicious agents. I 
omit the mention of several other extravagances in their 
system, the enumeration of which wo^ld be incompatible 
with the character of a compendious history. 

The notions of this sect, concerning Jesus Christ, were 
impious and extravagant. For though they considered him 
as the Son of the Supreme God, sent from the plcroma, or 
habitation of the Everlasting Father, for the happiness of 
miserable mortals, yet they entertained unworthy icleasbothi 
of his person and offices. They denied his deity, looking 
upon him as the Son of God, and consequently inferior to the 
Father; and they rejected his humanity, upon the supposition; 
that everything' concrete and corporeal is in itself essentially 
and intrinsically evil. From hence the greatest part of tin 
gnostics denied that Christ was clothed with a real body, or 
that he suffered rte&ly, for the sake of mankind, the pains and 
sorrows- which he is said to have sustained, in- the sacked his- 



92 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

tory. They maintained that he came to mortals with no 
other view, than to deprive the tyrants of this world of their 
influence upon virtuous and heaven-born souls, and destroy- 
ing the empire of these wicked spirits, to teach mankind how 
they might separate the divine mind from the impure body, 
and render the former worthy of being united to the Father 
of Spirits. 

Their doctrine relating to morals and practice was of 
two kinds, and those extremely different from each other. — 
The greatest part of this sect adopted rules of life that were 
full of austerity, recommended a strict and rigorous absti- 
nence, and prescribed the most severe bodily mortifications, 
from a notion that they had a happy influence in purifying 
and enlarging the mind and in disposing it for the contem- 
plation of celestial things. As they looked upon it to be 
the unhappiness of the soul to have been associated, at all, 
to a malignant, terrestrial body: so they imagined, that the 
more that body was extenuated, the less it would corrupt 
and degrade the mind, or divert it from pursuits of a spirit- 
ual and divine nature: all the gnostics; however, were not 
so severe in their moral discipline. Some maintained that 
there was 110 moral difference in human actions; and thus, 
confounding right with wrong, they gave a loose rein to 
all the passions, and asserted the innocence of following 
blindly all their motions, and of living by their tumultuous 
dictates. There is nothing surprising or unaccountable in 
this difference between the gnostic moralists. For, when 
we examine the matter with attention, we shall find that 
the same doctrine may very naturally have given rise to 
these opposite sentiments. As they all in general considered 
the body as the centre and source of evil, those of that sect, 
who were of a morose and austere disposition, would be 
hence naturally led to mortify and combat the body as the 
i'nemy of the soul; arid those who were of a voluptuous 
turn, might also consider the actions of the body, as having 
no relation, either of congruity, or incongruity, to the state 
of a soul in communion with God. 

Such extraordinary doctrines had certainly need of an 
undoubted authority to support them; and as this authority 
was not to be found in the writings of the evangelists or 
apostles, recourse was had to fables and stratagems. When 
the gnostics were challenged to produce the sources from 
whence they had drawn such strange tenets, and an autho- 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 93 

rity proper to justify the confidence with which they taught 
them, some referred to fictitious writings of Abraham, Zo- 
roaster, Christ and his apostles; others boasted of their ha- 
ving drawn these opinions from certain secret doctrines of 
Christ, which were not exposed to vulgar eyes; others af- 
firmed, that they had arrived at these sublime degrees of 
wisdom by an innate force and vigor of mind: and others 
asserted, that they were instructed in these mysterious parts 
of theological science by Theudas, a disciple of St. Paul, 
and by Matthias, one of the friends of our Lord. As to 
those among the gnostics, who did not utterly reject the 
books of the New Testament, it is proper to observe, that 
they not only interpreted these books most absurdly, by ne- 
glecting the true spirit of the words and the intention of the 
writers, but also corrupted them, in the most perfidious man- 
ner, by curtailing and adding, in order to remove what was 
unfavorable, or to produce something conformable to their 
pernicious and extravagant system. 

It has been already observed, that the gnostics were divi- 
ded in their opinions before thev embraced Christianity. — 
This appears from the account which has been given above 
of the oriental philosophy; and from hence we may see the 
reason, why they were formed into so many different sects 
after their receiving the christian faith. For, as every one 
endeavored to enforce the doctrines of the gospel into a con- 
formity with their particular sentiments and tenets, so Chris- 
tianity must have appeared in different forms, among the 
different members of a sect, which passed, however, under 
one general name. Another circumstance which also con- 
tributed to the diversity of sects among this people was 
that some being Jews by birth, as Cerinthus and ethers, could 
not so easily assume that contempt of Moses, and that a\ er- 
sion to his history, Which were so virulently indulged by 
those who had no attachment to the Jewish nation, nor to 
its religious institutions. We observe, in the last place, that 
the whole religious philosophical system of the g: was 

destitute of any sure or solid foundation, and depended, both 
for its existence and support upon the airy suggestions of 
genius and fancy. This consideration alone is a sufficient 
key to explain the divisions that reigned in this sect; since 
Uniformity can never subsist, with assurance, but upon the 
basis of evident and substantial truth; and variety must na- 
turallv introduce itself into those svstems and institutions 



94 INTERNAL HISTORY OF T.HE CHURCH. 

which are formed and conducted by the sole powers of in- 
vention and fancy. 

As then the Christian religion was In its first rise, corrupt- 
ed in several places by the mixture of an impious and chi- 
merical philosophy, with its pure and sublime doctrines, it 
will be proper to mention here the heads of those sects, who, 
in the first century cast a cloud upon the lustre of the rising 
church. Among these many gave the first place to Dosi- 
theus, a Samaritan. It is certain, that about the time of our 
Savior, a man, so named, lived among the -Samaritans, and 
abandoned that sect; but .all the accounts we have of him 
tend to show, that he is improperly placed among those call- 
eel heretics and should r&ther be ranked among the enemies. 
of Christianity. For this delirious man set himself up for 
the Messiah, whom God, had promised to the Jews, and dis- 
owning, of consequence, the divine mission of Christ, could 
not.be said to corrupt his doctrine. 

The same observation holds true with respect to Simon, 
Magus. This impious man is not .to be ranked among those 
who corrupted with their errors the purity and simplicity of 
■the -..christian doctrine: nor is he to be considered as the pa- 
rent and chief of the heretical tribe, in which point of light 
he has been injudiciously viewed by almost all ancient and 
modern writers. He is rather to he placed in the number of 
those who were enemies to the progress and advancement 
of Christianity. For it is manifest from all the records we 
have concerning him, that, after his defection from the 
Christians, he retained not the Jeast attachment to Christ, 
but opposed himself openly to the divine Savior, and as- 
sumed to himself blasphemously the title of the supreme "pow- 
er of God. 

The accounts, which ancient writers give us of Simon the 
magician, and of his opinions, seem so different, and indeed 
so inconsistent with ^each other, that certain learned men 
have considered them as regarding two different persons, 
bearing the name of Simon; the one a magician, and an 
apostate from Christianity; the other a gnostic philosopher. 
This opinion, which supposes a fact, without any other proof 
than a seeming difference in the narration of the ancient 
historians, ought not to be lightly adopted. To depart from 
the authority of ancient writers in this matter is by no 
means prudent; nor is it necessary to reconcile the different 
accounts already mentioned, whose inconsistency is not real. 



DIVISIONS VXD HERESIES. 95 

bat apparent only. -Simon was, by birth 3, Samaritan, or a 
lew; when he had studied philosophy at Alexandria. h# 
made a public profession of magic, which was nothing very 
uncommon at that time, and persuaded the Samaritans, by 
tictitious miracles, that he had received from God the power 
of commanding and restraining those evil beings by which 
mankind were tormented. Having seen, the miracles which 
Philip wrought, by a divine power, he joined himself to 
this apostle, .and embraced the doctrine of "'Christ, but with 
no other design than to receive the power of working mira- 
cles, in order to promote a low interest,, and to preserve and 
increase his impious authority over the minds of men. Then 
St. Peter pointed out to him solemnly the impiety of his in- 
tentions, and the vanity of his hopes, in that severe discourse 
in the 8th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles; and then the 
vile impostor not only returned to his former ways by an en- 
tire defection from the Christians, but also opposed, wherever 
ha came, the progress of the gospel, and even travelled into 
diiferent countries with that odious design. Many things 
are recorded of this impostor, of his tragical end, and of 
the statue erected to him at Rome, which the greatest part 
of the learned reject as fabulous. They are at least uncer- 
tain, and destitute of all probability. 

It is beyond all doubt, that Simon was in the class of 
those philosophers, who not only maintained the eternity of 
matter, but also the existence of an evil being, who presided 
and thus shared the empire of the universe, with the supreme 
and beneficent Mind. And as there was a good deal of va- 
riety in the sentiments of the different members of this sect, 
it is more than probable that Simon embraced the opinion 
of those who held that matter moved from eternity by an in- 
trinsic and necessary activity, had, by its innate force pro- 
duced aJUa certain period of time from its own substance, 
the evil principle which now exercises dominion over it, with 
all his numerous train of attendants. From this pernicious 
doctrine, the other errors attributed to him concerning fate. 
Uie iudiffer&ncc of human actions, the impurity of the human body, 
the power of magic, and such like extravagances, flow natu- 
riiy $,s from their true and genuine source. But this odiou*s 
magician ^till proceeded to more shocking degrees of enor- 
mity in his monstrous fictions; for he pretended, that in his 
person resided the greatest and most powerful of the divine 
axons; that another aion of the female sex ? _the mother of all 



98 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

human souls, dwelt in the person of his mistress Helena, 
and that he came by the command of God, upon earth, to 
abolish the empire of those that had formed this material 
world, and to deliver Helena from their power and domin- 
ion. 

Another wrong headed teacher named Menander, a Samar- 
itan also birth, appeared in this century. He is said to have 
been instructed by Simon; though this opinion has no other 
foundation, than the general notion that all the various sects 
of the gnostics derived their origin, from that magician; and 
this notion is entirely groundless, Be that as it will Menan- 
der should rather be ranked with the lunatics than with the 
heretics of antiquity, seeing he also took it into his head to 
exhibit himself to the world as the promised Savior. For 
it appears, by the testimonies of Irenseus, Justin, and Ter- 
tullian, that he pretended to be one of the axons sent from 
the pkromdj or celestial regions, to succor the souls that lay 
groaning under bodily oppression and servitude, and to 
maintain them against the violence and stratagems of the 
demons that hold the reins of empire in this sublunary world. 
As this doctrine was built upon the same foundation with 
that of Simon Magus, therefore the ancient writers looked 
upon him as the instructer of Menander. 

If then we separate these three persons, now successively 
mentioned, from the heretics of the first century, we may 
rank among the chief of the christian sectaries, and particu- 
larly of those that bear the general name of gnostics, the 
Nicolaitans, whom Christ himself mentions with abhorrence 
by the mouth of his apostle. It is true, indeed, that the di- 
vine Saviour does not reproach them with erroneous opin- 
ions concerning the deity, but with the licentiousness of their 
practice, and the contempt of that solemn law which the 
apostles had enacted, Acts 15: 29, against fornication, and 
the use of meals offered to idols. It is, however, certain* 
that the writers of the second and following centuries, Iren- 
seus, Tertullian, Clemens, and others, affirm, that the Mco- 
laitans, adopted the sentiments of the gnostics, concerning: 
the two principles of all things, the aions and the origin of this- 
terrestrial globe. The authority of these writers would be 
entirely satisfactory in this matter, were there not some 
reason to imagine, that they confounded, in their narrations, 
two sects very different from each other; that of the Nicolai- 
tans, mentioned in Revelations; and another founded by a 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. DT 

certain Nicolaus, in the second century, upon the principles 
of the gnostics. But this is a matter of too doubtful a na- 
ture to justify ^positive decision on either side. 

There is no scrt»of doubt,, but that Cerinthus maybe placed 
with propriety *araong the gnostics, though the learned aoge 
not entireh" agreed whether he belongs to the heretics of the 
first or second eentury. This man was fey birth a Jew, and ha- 
ving applied himsef ito letters and philosophy at Alexandiia, 
attempted at length to fori?. ; a new a?njd singular system of 
doctrine and discipline by a . monstrous- combination of the 
doctrines of Christ, with the opinions and errors of the Jews 
and gnostics. From the latter he borrowed their pleroma 
their aionS) their demiurge, &c. and so modified and tempered 
these fictions, -as to gwe them an air of Judaism, which 
must have considerably favored the progress-of his heresy-, 
He taught "that the creator of this world, wham he consid- 
ered also as the sovereign and lawgiver of the Jewish peo- 
ple, was a being endowed with the greatest virtues, -and de- 
rived his birth from the Supreme God' that this being fell, 
by degrees, from his native virtue, and Lis primitive dignity; 
: the Supreme God. in consequence of this, determined to 
destroy his empire, and sent upon earth, for this purpose, 
1 of the ever happy and glorious aions, whose name was 
ist; that this Christ chose for his habitation the person of 
Jesus* a man of the most illustrious sanctity and justice, the 
of Joseph and Mary, and descending in the form of*ta 
. entered into him rvhile he was receiving the baptism of 
John in the waters of Jordan; that Jesus, after his union witb 
>sed himself with wgor to the God of the Jews, and 
his instigation, seized and crucified by the Hebrew 
that when Jesus w is. laken captive/ Christ ascended 
on high, so that the m ^n Jesus aloneavas subjected to the 
ris of an ignominious d'^h/' Cerinthus required of his 
b Id worship the father of Christ, lb 
ae God, m -en junction with fhe "Son; they should 
of the Jews, whom he looked upon 
as the* creator of the world; that they should retain-apart of 
Moses, but should, nevertheless, employ 
their principal attention and care to regulate their lives by 
the precepts a.-' Christ. To encourage inem to this, he pro- 
mised them foe resurrection of this mortal body, after which 
- to commence a scene of the most exquisite delights, 
during Christ's earthly reign of a thousand years, which wa« 



08 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

to be succeeded by a happy and never ending life in the ce- 
lestial world. For Cerinthus held that Christ will one day 
return upon earth, and, renewing his former union with 
the man Jesus, will reign with his people in the land of Pal- 
estine during a thousand years. 

It has been already observed, that the church was trou- 
bled with early disputes concerning the law of Moses, and 
the Jewish rites. Those, however, who considered the ob- 
servance of the Mosaic rites as necessary to salvation, had 
not, in this first century, proceeded so far as to break off all 
communion with such as differed from them in this matter. 
Therefore they were still regarded as brethren, though of the 
weaker sort. But when, after the second destruction of Je- 
rusalem, under the emperor Adrian, these zealots for the Jew- 
ish rites deserted the ordinary assemblies of Christians, and 
established separate meetings among themselves, then they 
were numbered with those sects who had departed from the 
pure doctrine of Christ. Hence the name Nazarenes and 
Ebionites, by which the judaizing Christians were dis 
tinguished from those who looked upon the Mosaic worship, 
and ceremonies as entirely abolished by the appearance 
of Christ upon earth. We shall only observe further, under 
this head ; that though the* Nazarenes and Ebionites are gen- 
erally placed among the sects of the apostolic age, yet 
they really belong to the second century, which was the ear- 
liest period of their existence as a sect 



# I 

4 



THE SECOND CENTURY, 
PART I. 

EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 



CHAPTER I. 

CONCERNING THE PROSPEROUS EVENTS THAT HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH 
DURING THIS CENTURY. 

State of the Republic — progress of Christianity — conversion of the Gauls — 
translation oi the New Testament — Christians defended and heretics refu- 
ted — miracles and extraordinary gifts — miracle of the thundering legion du- 
bious — sedition and slaughter of the Jews- — philosophers converted to Chris- 
tianity. 

In this century the Roman sceptre was. for the most part, 
swayed by princes of a mild and moderate turn. Trajan, 
though too eagerly bent upon the pursuit of glory, and not 
always sufficiently attentive to his conduct, nor prudent in 
his measures, was nevertheless endowed with many virtues, 
and the predominant lines of his character were clemency 
and benevolence. Adrian was of a more harsh and untrac- 
table temper; yet very far from deserving the reputation of 
a wicked or unjust prince. He was of a mixed character, 
chargeable with several vices, and estimable on account of 
many excellent qualities. The Antonines were illustrious 
models of humanity, goodness, and sublime virtue. Severus 
himself, in whose character and disposition such an unex- 
pected and disadvantageous change was effected, was, in the 
beginning of his reign, unjust toward none, and even the 
Christians were treated by him with equity and mildness. 

This lenity of the emperors was singularly adventageous to 
those Christians who lived under the Roman sceptre; it sus- 
pended sometimes their sufferings, and alleviated the burden 
of their distresses. For though edicts of a severe nature 
were issued out against them, and the magistrates, anima- 
ted by the priests and by the multitude, shed their blood 



100 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

with a cruelty which frequently exceeded even the dictates 
of the most barbarous laws, yet there was always some 
remedy that accompanied these evils, and softened their 
severity. Trajan, however condemnable in other respects, 
on account of his conduct towards the Christians, was yet 
engaged, by the representations that Pliny the younger gave 
of them, to forbid all search to be made after them. He also 
prohibited all anonymous libels and accusations, by which 
the Christians had so often been perfidiously exposed to the 
greatest sufferings. Antoninus Pius went so far as to enact 
penal laws against their accusers. And others, by various 
acts of beneficence and compassion, defended them from 
the injurious treatment of the priests and people. Hence it 
come to pass that, in this century, the limits of the church 
were considerably enlarged, and the number of converts to 
to Christianity prodigiously augmented. Of the truth of 
this, we have the most respectable testimonies, whose evi- 
dence and authority are every way superior to the vain at- 
tempts which some have made to obscure and weaken them. 

It is not easy to point out particularly the different coun- 
tries on which the light of celestial truth first rose in this 
age. The aneient records that yet remain, do not give us 
information sufficient to determine that matter with certain- 
ty, nor is it, indeed, a matter of much importance. We are 
however, assured by the most unexceptionable testimonies, 
that Christ was worshipped as God, almost throughout the 
whole east, as also among the Germans, Spaniards, Celts, 
Britons, and many other nations; but which of them received 
the gospel in the first century, and which in the second, is a 
question unanswerable at this distance of time. Pantaenus, 
the head of the Alexandrian school, is said to have convey- 
ed to the Indians the knowledge of Christ. But after an atten- 
tive examination of the account which Eusebius gives of 
this matter, it will appear, that these Indians were certain 
Jews, inhabitants of the Happy Arabia whom Bartholomew 
the apostle had before instructed in the doctrines of Christian- 
ity. For, according to the account of St. Jerome, Pantaenus, 
found among this people the gospel of St. Matthew, which 
they had received from Bartholomew their first teacher. 

The christian religion, having penetrated among the 
Gauls, seems to have passed from thence into that part of 
Germany which was subject to the Romans, and from thence 



PROSPEROUS EVENTS. 101 

into Britain. Certain German churches, indeed, are fondly 
ambitious of deriving their origin from St. Peter, and from 
the companions of the other apostles. The Britons also are 
willing to believe, upon the authority of Bede, that in this 
century, and under the reign of Marcus Antoninus, their 
king Lucius addressed himself to Eleutherus the Roman pon- 
tiff, for teachers to instruct him in the christian religion, and g 
having obtained his request, embraced the gospel. But, 
after all, these traditions are extremely doubtful, and are, in- 
deed, rejected by such as have learning sufficient to weigh 
the credibility of ancient narrations. 

It is very possible that the light of Christianity may have 
reached Transalpine Gaul, now called France, before the 
conclusion of the apostolic age, either by the ministry of the 
apostles themselves, or their immediate successors. But we 
have no records that mention with certainty the establish- 
ment of christian churches in this part of Europe before the 
second century. Pothinus, a man of exemplary piety and 
zeal, set out from Asia in company with Irenseus and others, 
and laboured in the christian cause with such success 
among the Gauls, that churches were established at Lyons 
at Vienne, of which Pothinus himself was the first bishop. 

The writers of this century attribute this rapid progress of 
Christianity to the power of God, to the energy of divine 
truth, to the extraordinary gifts, which were imparted to the 
first christians, and the miracles and prodigies that were 
wrought in their behalf, and at their command; nor do they 
ascribe almost any part of the amazing success that attended 
the preaching of the gospel, to the intervening succours of 
human means or second causes. But this is carrying the mat- 
ter too far. The wisdom of human counsels, and the useful 
efforts of learning and prudence, are too inconsiderately ex- 
cluded from this account of things. For it is beyond all 
doubt, that the pious diligence and zeal, with which many 
learned and worthy men recommended the sacred writings, 
and spread them abroad in translations, which rendered them 
useful to those who were ignorant of the language in which 
they were written, contributed much to the success and pro- 
pagation of the christian doctrine. Latin versions of these 
sacred books were multiplied by the pious labors of the 
learned with particular diligence, because that language 
was now more universal than any other. Among these ver- 
sions, that which was distinguished by the name of the Italic, 



102 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

obtained universally the preference, and was followed by 
the Syriac, Egyptian, and Ethiopic versions, whose dates it 
is impossible to fix with certainty. 

Among the obstacles that retarded the progress of Christi- 
anity, the impious calumnies of its enemies were the most 
considerable. The persons, the characters, and religious 
sentiments of the first Christians were most unjustly treated 
and most perfidiously misrepresented to the credulous mul- 
titude, who were restrained by this only from embracing the 
gospel. Those therefore, who by their apologetic writings in 
favor of the Christians destroyed the poisonous influence of 
detraction, rendered, no doubt, signal service to the doctrine 
of Christ, by removing the chief impediment that retarded 
its progress. Nor were the writings of such as combated 
with success the ancient heretics without their use, especially 
in the early periods of the church. For the insipid and ex- 
travagant doctrines of these secretaries, and the gross im- 
moralities with which they were chargeable, were extreme- 
ly prejudicial to the christian religion, by disgusting many 
at whatever carried the christian name. But when it waf 
known, by the writings of those who defended Christianity, 
that these corrupt heretics were held in aversion, instead of 
being patronized by the true followers of Christ, then the 
clouds that were cast over the religion of Jesus were dis- 
persed, and the prejudices that had been raised against it 
were fully removed. 

It is easier to conceive than to express how much the mi- 
raculous powers and extraordinary gifts, which were displayed 
in the ministry of the first heralds of the gospel, contribu- 
ted to enlarge the bounds of the church. These gifts, how- 
ever, which were given for wise and important reasons, be- 
gan gradually to diminish in proportion as the reasons ceased 
for which they were conferred. And, accordingly, when al- 
most all nations were enlightened with the truth, and the 
number of christian churches increased daily in all places, 
then the miraculous gift of tongues began gradually to de- 
erease. It appears, at the same time, from unexceptionable 
testimonies, that the extraordinary gifts with which the om- 
nipotence and wisdom of the Most High had so richly en- 
dowed the rising church, were, in several places, continued 
during this century. 

We cannot, indeed, place, with any degree of certainty, 
among the effects of a miraculous power, yet remaining in 






PROSPEROUS EVENTS. 103 

the church, the story of the christian legion, who by their 
prayers drew from heaven a refreshing shower upon the ar- 
my of Marcus Antoninus, ready to perish with thirst, when 
that emperor was at war with the Alarcomanni. This re- 
markable event, which gave to the christians, to whom it 
was attributed,' the name of the thundering legion, on ac- 
count of the thunder and lightning that destroyed the ene- 
my, while the shower revived the fainting Romans, has been 
mentioned by many writers. But whether it was really mira- 
culous or not has been much disputed among learned men. 
Some think that the Christians, by a pious sort of mistake, 
attributed this unexpected and seasonable shower, which 
saved the Roman army, to a miraculous interposition; and 
this opinion is indeed supported by the weightiest reasons, as 
well as by the most respectable authorities. 

Let us distinguish what is doubtful in this story from that 
which is certain. It is certain that the Roman army, en- 
closed by the enemy, and reduced to the most deplorable and 
even desperate condition, by the thirst under which they 
languished in a parched desert, was revived by a sudden and 
unexpected rain. It is also certain that both the heathens 
and the Christians looked upon this event as extraordinary 
and miraculous; the former attributing it to Jupiter, Mercu- 
ry, or the power of magic; the latter to Christ, interposing 
thus unexpectedly, in consequence of their prayers. It is 
still further beyond all doubt, that a considerable number of 
Christians served at this time in the Roman army, and it is 
extremely probable that in such trying circumstances of ca- 
lamity and distress, they implored the merciful interposition 
and succors of their God and Savior. And as the Christians 
of these times looked upon all extraordinary events as mira- 
cles, and ascribed to their prayers all the uncommon and 
singular occurrences of an advantageous nature that hap- 
pened to the Roman empire, it will not appear surprising, 
that, upon the present occasion, they attributed the delive- 
rance of Antoninus and his army to a miraculous interposi- 

n which they had obtained from above. But, on the other 
hand it must be cart fully observed, that it is an invariable 
maxim, universally adopted by the wise and judicious, that 
no events are to be esteemed miraculous, which may be ra- 
tionally attributed to natural causes, and accounted for by 
a recourse to the ordinary dispensations of Providence; and 
a^ the unexpected shower, which restored the expiring force 



104 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

of the Romans, may be easily explained without rising be- 
yond the usual and ordinary course of nature, the conclusion 
is manifest; nor can it be doubtful in what light we are to 
consider that remarkable event. 

The Jews were visited with new calamities, first under 
Trajan, and then under Adrian, when under the standards 
of Barcocheba, who gave himself out for the Messiah, they 
rose in rebellion against the Romans. In consequence of 
this sedition prodigious Plumbers of that miserable people 
w r ere put to the sword, and a new city, called iEiia Capito- 
lina was raised on the ruins of Jerusalem, into which no 
Jew r was permitted to enter. This defeat of the Jews tend- 
ed to confirm in some measure the tranquillity of the chris- 
tian church. For that turbulent and perfidious nation had 
hitherto oppressed and vexed the Christians, not only by pre- 
senting everywhere to the Roman magistrates complaints 
and accusations against them, but q»ko by treating them in 
the most injurious manner in Palestine and the neighboring 
countries, because they refused to succor them against the 
Romans. But this new calamity, which fell upon that sedi- 
tious nation, put it out of their power to exercise their ma- 
lignity against the disciples of Jesus, as they had formerly 
done. 

Among other accessions to the splendor and force of the 
growing church, we may reckon the learned and ingenious 
labors of those philosophers and literati, who were convert- 
ed to Christianity in this century. I am sensible that the ad- 
vantages arising from hence to the cause of true religion, 
will be disputed by many; and indeed when the question is 
thus proposed, whether upon the whole the interests of Chris- 
tianity have gained or lost by the writings of the learned, and 
the speculations of philosophers that have been employed 
in its defence, I confess myself incapable of solving it in a 
satisfactory manner. For nothing is more manifest th$n this 
truth, that the noble simplicity and dignity of religion were 
sadly corrupted in many places, when the philosophers 
blended their opinions with its pure doctrines, and were au- 
dacious enough to submit that divine system of faith and 
piety to be scrutinized ^nd modified by the fallible rule oj 
imperfect reason. 



CALAMITOUS EVENTS. 105 



CHAPTER II. 

COKCERNUJG THE CALAMITOUS EVENTS WHICH HAPPENED TO THE 
CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. 

Persecution under Trajan — effect pf Trijan's order to Pliny — persecution un- 
der Adrian — under Antoninus — under Marcus Antoninus — calamities of 
Christians under him — their state under Commodua and Severus — calumnies 
inst the Christians . 

In the beginning of this century there were no laws in 
force against the Christians, for the senate had annulled the 
cruel edicts of Xero, and Nerva had abrogated the sangui- 
nary laws of his predecessor Domitian. But notwithstand- 
ing this a horrid custom prevailed of persecuting the Chris- 
tians, and even of putting them to death, as often as a bloody 
priesthood or an outrageous populace, set on by them, de- 
manded their destruction. Hence it happened, that even 
under the reign of Trajan, popular clamors were raised 
against the Christians, many of whom fell victims to the rage 
of a merciless multitude. Such were the riotous proceedings 
that happened in Biihynia, under the administration of Pliny 
the younger, who, upon that occasion wrote to the emperor, 
to know in what manner he was to conduct himself toward 
the Christians. The answer which he received from Trajan 
amounted to this: "that the Christians were not to be offici- 
ously sought after, but that such as were accused and convicted 
of an etdherence to Christianity, were to be put to death, as 
wicked citizens, if they did not return to the religion of their 
ancestors." 

This edict of Trajan, being registered among the public 
and solemn laws of the Roman empire, set bounds indeed 
to the fury of those who persecuted the Christians, but was, 
however, the occasion of martyrdom to many, even under 
the best emperors. For, as often as an accuser appeared, 
and the person accused of an adherence to Christianity, con- 
fessed the truth of the charge, the only alternative then was 
apostacy or death, since a magnanimous perseverance in 
the christian faith was, according to the edict of Trajan, a 
capital crime; and accordingly the venerable and aged Si- 
meon, son of Cleophas, and bishop of Jerusalem, was by this 
very law, crucified in consequence of an accusation formed 



106 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

against him by the Jews. By the same law also was the 
great and pious Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, ordered by Tra- 
jan himself to expire in the Roman theatre, exposed to the 
rapacity of furious beasts; for as the law denounced simply 
death to such as were convicted of an attachment to Christ, 
the kind of punishment was left by the legislator to the 
choice of the judge. 

Such of the Christians as could conceal their profession, 
were indeed sheltered by the law of Trajan, which was 
•therefore a disagreeable restraint upon the heathen priests, 
who breathed nothing but fury against the disciples of Jesus. 
The office of an accuser was also dangerous, and very few 
were disposed to undertake it, so that the sacerdotal craft 
was now inventing new methods to oppress the Christians. 
The law of Trajan was therefore artfully evaded under the 
the reign of his successor Adrian. The populace, set in mo- 
tion by their priests, demanded of their magistrates, with 
one voice, during the public games, the destruction of the 
Christians; and the magistrates,, fearing that a sedition 
might be the consequence of despising or opposing these po- 
pular clamors, were too much disposed to indulge them in 
their request. During these commotions, Serenus Gratianus, 
proconsul of Asia, represented to the emperor, how barba- 
rous and unjust it was to sacrifice to the fury of a lawless 
multitude persons who had been convicted of no crime. Nor 
was his wise and equitable remonstrance without effect: for 
Adrian, by an edict, issued out to these magistrates, prohi- 
bited the putting the Christians to death, unless they were 
convicted of crimes committed against the laws; and this 
edict appears to have been a solemn renewal of the law of 
Trajan. The moderation of the emperor, in this edict, may 
perhaps have been owing to the admirable apologies of Qua- 
dratus and Aristides, in favor of the Christians, which were 
every way proper to dispel the angry prejudices of a mind 
that had any sense of equity and humanity left. But it was 
not from the Romans alone that the disciples of Christ w ere 
to feel oppression; Barcochebas, the fictitious king of the 
Jews, whom Adrian afterwards defeated, vented against 
them all his fury, because they refused to join his standard, 
and second his rebellion. 

The law of Adrian, according to its natural sense, seemed 
to cover the Christians from the iury of their enemies, since 
it rendered them punishable on no other account than the 



CALAMITOUS EVEN'IS. 



107 



•commission of crimes, and since the magistrates refused to in- 
terpret their religion as the crime mentioned in the imperial 
edict. Therefore their enemies invented a new method of 
■attacking them, under the reign of Antoninus Pius, even by 
accusing them of impiety and atheism. This calumny was 
refuted in an apohgy for the Christians, presented to the em- 
peror by Justin Martyr, in consequence of which this equita- 
ble prince ordered that all proceedings against them should 
be regulated by the law of Adrian. This, however, was not 
sufficient to suppress the rage of bloodthirsty persecution: 
for, some time after this, on occasion of some earthquakes, 
which happened in Asia, the people renewed their violence 
against the Christians, whom they considered as the authors 
of those calamities, and treated consequently in the most 
cruel and injurious manner. The emperor, informed of these 
unjust and barbarous proceedings, addressed an edict to the 
whole province of Asia, in which he denounced capital pu- 
nishment against such as should, for the future, accuse the 
Christians, without being able to prove them guilty of any 
c.iime. 

This worthy prince was succeded by Marcus Aurelius An- 
toninus, whom most writers have celebrated beyond mea- 
sure, on account of his extraordinary wisdom and virtue. It 
is not, however, in his conduct toward the Christians, that 
we must look for the reasons of these pompous encomiums; 
for here, the justice and clemency of the emperor suffer 
a strange eclipse. He did not indeed revoke the edict of 
Antoninus Pius, or abrogate the laws which preceding em- 
perors had enacted in favor of the Christians; but he did 
what was equally pernicious to them. Without examining 
impartially their cause, he lent an easy and attentive ear to 
all the most virulent insinuations of their enemies, and more 
especially to the malignant calumnies of the philosophers, 
who accused them of the most horrid crimes and the most 
monstrous impiety, and charged them with renewing the 
shocking feast of Thyestes, and the incestuous amours of the 
Theban prince. So that, if we except that of Nero, there 
was no reign under which the Christians were more injuri- 
ously and cruelly treated, than under that of the wise and 
virtuous Marcus Aurelius; and yet there was no reign under 
which such numerous and victorious apologies were published 
in their behalf. Those which Justin Martyr, Athetiagoras, 
and Tatian drew upon this occasion are still extant. 



108 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

This emperor issued out against the Christians, whom he 
considered as a vain, obstinate, and vicious set of men, 
edicts, which, upon the whole, were very unjust, though 
we do not know, at this distance of time, their particular 
contents. In consequence of these imperial edicts the judges 
and magistrates received the accusations, which even slaves 
and the vilest of the perjured rabble brought against the 
followers of Jesus. And the Christians were put to the most 
cruel tortures, and condemned to meet death in the most 
barbarous forms, notwithstanding their perfect innocence, 
and their persevering and solemn denial of the crimes laid 
to their charge. The edicts were so positive and express 
against such of the Christians as were guilty of no crime, 
that the corrupt judges, w r ho through motives of interest or 
popularity, desired their destruction, were obliged to suborn 
false accusers, to charge them with actions that might bring 
them within the reach of the laws. Hence many fell vic- 
tims to cruel superstition, and popular fury, seconded by the 
corruption of a wicked magistracy and the connivance of a 
prince, who, with respect to one set of men, forgot the prin- 
ciples of justice and clemency which directed his conduct 
toward all others. Among these victims there were many 
men of illustrious piety, and some of eminent learning and 
abilities, such as the holy and venerable Polycarp, bishop of 
Smyrna, and Justin Martyr, so justly renowned for his eru- 
dition and philosophy. Many churches, particularly those of 
Lyons and Vienne, were almost entirely destroyed during 
this violent persecution, which raged in the year 177, and 
will be an indelible stain on the memory of the prince by 
whose order it was carried on. 

During the reign of Commodus the Christians suffered ve- 
ry little; no general persecution raged against them, and 
any cruelties they endured were confined to a small num- 
ber, who had newly abandoned the pagan superstitions. But 
the scene changed toward the latter end of this century, when 
Severus was declared emperor. Then Asia, Egypt, and the 
other provinces, were dyed with the blood of martyrs, as ap- 
pears from the testimonies of Tertullian, Clemens, of Alex- 
andria, and other writers. Those, therefore, are not to be 
followed, who affirmed, that the Christians suffered nothing 
under Severus, before the beginning of the third ceatury, 
which was distinguished by the cruel edicts of this emperor 
against their lives and fortunes. For, as the imperial laws 



CALAMITOUS EVENTS. 100 

against the Christians were not abrogated, and the iniqui- 
tous edicts of Trajan and Marcus Antoninus were still in 
force, there was a door of consequence, open to the fury 
and injustice of corrupt magistrates, as often as they were 
pleased to exercise them upon the church. It was this series 
of calamities under which it groaned towards the conclusion 
of the second century, which engaged Turtullian to write 
his apology, and several other books, in defence of the Chris- 
tians. 

It is very easy to account for the sufferings and calamities 
with which the disciples of Jesus were loaded, when we con- 
sider how they were blackened and rendered odious by the 
railing, the calumnies, and libels of the heathen priests, and 
the other defenders of a corrupt and most abominable sys- 
tem of superstion. The injurious charges of which we took 
notice above, are mentioned by all those who have written 
in defence of the Christians, and ought indeed to stand al- 
ways upon record, as a proof both of the weakness and 
wickedness of their adversaries. Nothing can be more friv- 
olous and insignificant than the objections which the most 
famous defenders of paganism opposed to Christianity, at 
this time; and such as desiring a convincing proof of this 
assertion have only to read the arguments of Celsus on that 
subject. This philosopher wrote against the Christians du- 
ring the reign of Adrian, and was admirably refuted by Ori- 
gen. who represents him as an epicurean, a mistake which 
has been almost generally followed, whereas it appears, 
with the utmost probability, that he was a platonic philoso- 
pher, of the sect of Ammonius, Be that as it will, Celsus 
was a trifling caviller, as is manifest from the answer of Ori- 
gen; nor do his writings against Christianity serve any oth- 
er purpose than to show his malignant and illiberal turn of 
mind 

Fronto the rhetorician, and Crescens, the cynic philoso- 
pher, made also some wretched attempts against Christiani- 
ty. The efforts of the former are only known by the men- 
tion that is made of them by Minutius Felix and the enter- 
prises of the latter were confined to a vehement zeal for the 
ruin of the Christians, and a virulent persecution of Justin 
Martyr, which ended in the cruel death of that eminent saint. 



PART IL 

INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 



CHAPTER L 

"CONCERNIN'G THE STATE OF LETTERS AND PHILOSOPHY DURING TM 

PERIOD. 

The state of learning— Stoics — Platonics — Epicureans-— the rise of the new 
Platonics, called Eclectics — Christians approve their discipline— Ammonius 
Saccas — the Ammonian or eclectic philosophy — its chief articles — its moral 
principles-— the opinions of Ammonius of God and Christ— bad effects of this 
philosophy- — state of learning among the Christains. 

Under the reign of Trajan, letters and philosophy came 
forth from the retreat where they had languished during the 
savage tyranny, of his predecessors, and by the auspicious 
production of this excellent prince, were, in some measure, 
restored to their former lustre. This happy revolution in the 
republic of letters was indeed but of short duration, as it 
was not supported by the following emperors, who were for 
the most part averse to literary pursuits. Even Marcus An- 
toninus, w r ho surpassed all in learning, gave protection and 
encouragement to the stoics alone, and, after the example of 
that supercilious sect, treated the arts and sciences with in- 
difference and contempt. And here we see the true reason 
w T hy the writers of this century are in general so much infe- 
rior to those of the former, in point of elegance and purity, 
eloquence and taste. 

It must be observed, at the same time, that this degenera- 
cy of erudition and taste did not amount to an utter extinc- 
tion of the one or the other. For even in this century 
there were, both among the Greeks and the Romans, men, 
of eminent genius and abilities, who set off, in the most ad- 
vantageous manner, the learning of the times, in which they 
lived. Among the learned Grecians, the first place is due to 
Plutarch a man of erudition, whose knowledge was various 
but indigested, and whose philosophical taste was corrupted 
by the sceptical tenets of the acadamies. There were like- 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY'. Ill 

wise, in ail the more considerable -cities of the Roman em- 
pire, rhetoricians, sophists, and grammarians, who by a va- 
riety of learned exercises, seemed zealous in forming the 
youth to their arts of eloquence and declamation, and in 
rendering them fit by their talents and acquisitions to be use- 
ful to their country. But the instruction acquired in these 
schools was more specious than solid; and the youth who re- 
ceived their education in them, distinguished themselves at 
their entrance upon the active stage of life more by empty 
declamation than true eloquence; more by pompous erueii- 
dition than by wisdom and dexterity in the management of 
public affairs. The consequence of this was, that the rhe- 
toricians and sophists, though agreeable to the corrupt taste 
of the times, which was incapable-, generally speaking, of 
perceiving the native charms of truth, yet fell into contempt 
among the prudent and the wise, who held in derision the 
knowledge and education that were acquired in their audi- 
tories. Beside the schools now mentioned, there were two- 
public academies in the empire; the one at Rome, founded 
by Adrian, in which ail the sciences were taught: and the 
other at Berytus in Phenicia, which was principally destined 
for the education of the youth in the science of law. 

Many philosophers, of all the different sects, flourished at 
this time, whose names we think it not necessary to mention. 
Two, however, were of such remarkable and shining merit, 
as rendered them real ornaments to the stoic philosophy, 
which the meditations of Marcus Antoninus and the manual 
of Epictetus abundantly testify. These two great men had 
more admirers than disciples and followers; for in this cen- 
tury the stoical sect was not in the highest esteem; as the ri- 
gor and austerity of its doctrines were by no means suited 
to the dissolute manners of the times. The platonic schools 
were more frequented, for several reasons, and particularly 
for these two, that their moral precepts were less rigorous 
asid severe than those of the stoics, and their doctrines more 
conformable to, or rather less incompatible with, the com- 
mon opinions concerning the gods. But of all the philoso- 
phers the epicureans enjoyed the greatest reputation, and 
had undoubedly the greatest number of followers, because 
their opinions tended to encourage the indolent security of 
a voluptuous and effeminate life, and to banish the remorse^ 
and terrors that haunt vice, a/id naturally incommode thfc 
wicked in their sensual pursuits. 



112 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

Toward the conclusion of this century, a new sect of phi- 
losophers arose of a sudden, spread, with amazing rapidity, 
throughout the greatest part of the Romai. empire, swal- 
lowed up almost all the other sects, and was extremely de- 
trimental to the cause of Christianity. Alexandria, in Egypt- 
winch had been, for a long time, the seat of learning, and, 
as it were, the centre of all the liberal arts and sciences, 
gave birth to this new philosophy. Its votaries chose to be 
called platonics; though far from adhering to all the tenets 
of Plato, they collected, from the different sects, such doc- 
trmes as they thought conformable to truth, arid forced there- 
of one general system.. The reason why ^they distinguished 
themselves by the title of platonics was, tfo&t they thought 
the sentiments of Plal o, concerning' that most noole part of 
philosophy which 1ms the Deity, and things invisible, for its 
objects much more miional and sublime than those of the 
other philosophers. 

What gave to this new philosophy a superior air of reason 
and dignity, was the unprejudiced spirit of candor anC 
impartiality or which it seemed to be founded. TMs re- 
commended it particularly to those real sages, whose inqui- 
ries were accompanied with wisdom and moderation, a-no 
who were sick of those arrogant and contentious sects, which 
required am invariable attach men*; to their particular systems. 
And, indeed, nothing could have a more engaging aspect 
than, a set of men, who, abandoning all cavil, and all preju- 
dices in favor ofsa&iy party, professed searching after the 
truth alone, -and were ready to adopt, from all the different 
systems and sects, such tenets as they thought agreeable to 
it. From hence mso they were called eclectics. It is how- 
ever, to be observed as we hinted in the former section, that 
though these philosophers were attached to no particular 
sect, yet they preferred, as appears from a variety of testi- 
monies, the sublime Plato to all other s^ges, and approved 
of the most of his opinions concerning the Deity, the uni- 
verse, and the human soul. 

This new species of platonism was embraced by such of 
the Alexandrian christians as were desirous to retain, with 
the profession of the gospel, the title, the dignity, and the 
habit of phSo^opiiers. It is also said to have had the par- 
ticular approbation of Athenagoras, Pantaenus, Clemens the 
Alexandrian, and all those who, in this century, were charged 
with the care of the public school, which the Christians, had 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY. 113 

at Alexandria. These sages were of opinion that true phi- 
losophy^ the greatest and most salutary gift of God to mor- 
tals, was scattered in various portions through all the differ- 
ent sects ; and that it was, consequently, the duty of every 
wiseman, and more, especially of every christian teacher, 
to gather it from the several corners, where it lay dispersed, 
and to employ it, thus reunited, in the defence of religion, 
and in destroying the dominion of impiety and vice. The 
christian eclectics, had this also in common with the others, 
that they preferred Plato to the other philoscpers, and looked 
upon his opinions concerning God, the human soul, and 
things invisible, as conformable to the spirit and genius of 
the christian doctrine. 

This philosophical system underwent some changes, when 
Ammonius Saccas. who taught, with the highest applause, 
in the Alexandrian school, about the conclusion of this cen- 
tury, laid the foundations of that sect which was distinguish- 
ed by the name of the new Platonics. This learned man was 
born of christian parents, and never, perhaps, gave up en- 
tirely the outward profession of that divine religion in which 
he had been educated. As his genius was vast and com- 
prehensive, so were his projects bold and singular. For he 
attempted a general reconciliation or coalition of all sects, 
whether philosophical or religious, and taught a doctrine 
which he looked upon as proper to unite them all, the Chris- 
tians not excepted, in the most perfect harmony. And here- 
in lies the difference between this new sect and the eclec- 
tics, who had, before this time, flourished in Egypt. The 
eclectics held, that in every sect there was a mixture of good 
and bad, of truth and falsehood, and accordingly, they chose 
and adopted out of each of them, such tenets as seemed to 
them conformable to reason and truth, and rejected such 
as they thought repugnant to both. Ammonius, en the con- 
trary, maintained, that the great principles of all philosophi- 
cal and religious truth were to be found equally in all sects; 
that they differed from each other only in their method of ex- 
pressing them, and in some opinions of little or no impor- 
tance; and that, by a proper interpretation of their respec- 
tive sentiments, they might easily be united into one body. 
It is further to be observed that the propensity of Ammonius 
to singularity and paradox, led him to maintain that all the 
gentile religions, and even the christian, were to be illustra- 
ted and explained by the principles of this universal philo- 

h* 



114 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

sophy; but that, in order to this, the fables of the priests 
were to be removed from paganism, and the comments and 
interpretations of the disciples of Jesus from Christianity. 

This arduous design, which Amrnonius had formed of 
bringing about a coalition of all the various philosophical 
sects, and all the different systems of religion that prevailed 
in the world, required many difficult and disagreeable things 
in order to its execution. Every particular sect and religion- 
must have several of its doctrines curtailed or distorted be- 
fore it could enter into the general mass. The tenets of the 
philosophers, the superstitions of the heathen priests, the so- 
lemn doctrines of Christianity, were all to suffer in this cause, 
and forced allegories were to be suhtilely employed in re- 
moving the difficulties with which it was attended. How this 
vast project was effected by Amrnonius, the writings of his 
disciples and followers, that yet remain, abundantly testify. 
In order to the accomplishing his purpose, he supposed that 
true philosophy derived its origin and its consistency from 
the eastern nations; that it was taught to the Egyptians by 
Hermes; that it was brought from them to the Greeks, by 
whose vain subtilties and litigious disputes it was rendered 
somewhat obscure and deformed; but was, however pre- 
served in its original purit}^ by Plato, who was the best in- 
terpreter of Hermes, and of the other oriental sages. He 
maintained that all the different religions that prevailed in 
the world, were, in their original integrity, conformable to 
the genius of this ancient philosophy; but that it unfortu- 
nately happened, that the symbols and fictions under which, 
according the eastern manner, the ancients delivered their 
precepts and their doctrines, were, in process of time, erro- 
neously understood, both by priests and people, in a literal 
sense; that in consequence of this, the invisible beings and 
demons, whom the Supreme Deity had placed in the differ- 
ent parts of the universe, as the ministers of his providence, 
were, by the suggestions of superstition, converted into gods, 
and worshiped with a multiplicity of vain ceremonies. He 
therefore insisted, that all the religions of all nations should 
be restored to their original purity, and reduced to their pri- 
mitive standard, viz. "the ancient philosophy of the east;" 
and he affirmed that his project was agreeable to the inten- 
tions of Jesus Christ, whose sole view, in descending upon; 
earth, was to set bounds to the reigning superstition, to re- 
move the errors that had crept into the religions of all na- 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY. 115 

tions, but not to abolish the ancient theology, from whence 
they were derived. 

Taking these principles for granted, Ammonius adopted 
the doctrines which were received in Egypt, the place of his 
birth and education, concerning the universe and the Deity, 
considered as constituting one great whole as also concern- 
ing the eternity of the world, the nature of souls, the empire 
of Providence, and the government of this world by demon*. For 
it is more evident, that the Egyptian philosophy, which was 
said to be derived from Hermes, was the basis of that of Am- 
monius; or, as it is otherwise called, of modern platonism; 
and the book of Jamblichus, concerning the mysteries of the 
• Egyptians, puts the matter beyond dispute. Ammonius, 
therefore, associated the sentiments of the Egyptians with the 
doctrines of Plato, which was easily done, by adulterating 
some of the opinions of the latter, and forcing his expres- 
sions from their obvious and natural sense. And, to finish 
this conciliatory scheme, he so interpreted the doctrines of 
the other philosophical and religious sects, by the violent 
succors of art, invention, and allegory, that they seemed, 
at length, to bear some resemblance of the Egyptian and 
platonic systems. 

To this monstrous coalition of heterogeneous doctrines its 
fanatical author added a rule of life and manners, which 
carried an aspect of high sanctity and uncommon austerity. 
He, indeed, permitted the people to live according to the 
laws of their country and the dictates of nature; but a more 
sublime rule was laid down for the wise. They were to 
raise above all terrestrial things, by the towering efforts of 
holy contemplation, those souls whose origin was celestial 
and divine. They were ordered to extenuate, by hunger, 
thirst, and other mortifications, the sluggish body, which 
confines the activity and restrains the liberty, of the immor- 
tal spirit; that thus, in this life, they they might enjoy com- 
munion with the Supreme Being, and ascend, after death, 
active and unincumbered, to the Universal Parent, to live 
in his presence forever. As Ammonius was born and edu- 
cated among christians, he set off, and even gave an air of 
authority to these injunctions, by expressing them partly in 
terms borrowed from the sacred scriptures, of which we find 
a vast number of citations also in the writings of his disci- 
ples. To this austere discipline he added the pretended art 
of so purging and refining that faculty of the mind, which 



116 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

receives the images of things, as to render it capable of 
perceiving the demons, and of performing many marvelous 
things, by their assistance. This art, which the disciples of 
Ammonius called theurgy, was not, however, communicated 
to all the schools of this fanatical philosopher, but only to 
those of the first rank. 

The extravagant attempts of Ammonius did not end here. 
To reconcile the popular religions of different countries, and 
particularly the christian religion, with this new system, he 
fell upon the following inventions: 1st. he turned into mere 
allegory the whole history of the gods, and maintained that 
those beings whom the priests and the people dignified with 
this title, were no more than celestial ministers, to whom a 
certain kind of worship was due, but a worship inferior to 
that which was to be reserved for the Supreme Deity. 2dly. 
He acknowledged Christ to be a most excellent man, the 
friend of God, the admirable thcurge; he denied, however, 
that Jesus designed to abolish entirely the worship of de- 
mons, and of the pther ministers of divine Providence; and 
affirmed, on the contrary, that his only intention was to pu- 
rify the ancient religion; and that his followers had mani- 
festly corrupted the doctrine of their divine master. 

This new species of philosophy, imprudently adopted by 
Origen and many other Christians, was extremely prejudi- 
cial to the cause of the gospel, and to the beautiful simpli- 
city of its celestial doctrines. From hence it was, that the 
christian teachers began to introduce their subtle and ob- 
scure erudition into the religion of Jesus, to involve in the 
darkness of a vain philosophy some of the principal truths of 
Christianity, that had been revealed with the utmost plainness, 
and were indeed obvious to the meanest capacity; and to 
add to the sublime precepts of our Lord many of their own y 
which had no sort of foundation in any part of the sacred 
writings. From the same source arose that melancholy set 
of men, who have been distinguished by the name of mys- 
tics, whose system, when separated from the platonic doc- 
trine, concerning the nature and origin of the soul, is but a 
lifeless mass, without any vigor, form, or consistence. Nor 
did the evils which sprung from this Ammonian system of 
philosophy end here. For, under the specious pretext of the 
necessity of contemplation, it gave occasion to that slothful 
and indolent course of life, which continues to be led by my- 
ifids of monks retired in cells, and sequestered from society. 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY. 117 

to which they -are neither useful by their instructions, nor 
by their examples. To this philosophy we may trace, as to 
their source, a multitude of vain and foolish ceremonies, pro- 
per only to cast a veil over truth, and to nourish superstition, 
and which are, for the most part, religiously observed by 
many, even in the times in which we live. It would be end- 
less to enumerate all the pernicious consequences that may 
be justly attributed to this new system of philosophy, or ra- 
ther to this monstrous attempt to reconcile falsehood with 
truth, and light with darkness. Some of its most fatal ef- 
fects were, its alienating the minds of many, in the follow- 
ing ages, from the christian religion; and its substituting, in 
the place of the pure and sublime simplicity of the gospel 
an unseemly mixture of platonism and Christianity. 

The number of learned men among the Christians, which 
was very small in the preceding century, increased conside- 
rably in this. Among these there were few rhetoricians, so- 
phists, or orators. The most part were philosophers, attached 
to the eclectic system, though they were not all of the same 
sentiments concerning the utility of letters and philosophy. 
Those, who were themselves initiated into the depths of phi- 
losophy, were desirous that others, particularly such as as- 
pired to the office of bishops, or teachers, should apply 
themselves to the study of human wisdom, in order to their 
being the better qualified for defending the truth with vigor, 
and instructing the ignorant with success. Others were of a 
quite different way of thinking upon this subject, and were 
for banishing all argumentation and philosophy from the li- 
mits of the church, from a notion that erudition might prove 
detrimental to the true spirit of religion. Hence the early be- 
ginnings of that unhappy contest between faith and reason, 
religion and philosophy, piety and genius, which increased in 
the succeeding ages, and is prolonged even to our times, with 
a violence that renders it extremely difficult to be brought 
to a conclusion. Those who maintained that learning and 
philosophy were rather advantageous than detrimental to 
the cause of religion, gained by degrees, the ascendant; and 
in consequeuce thereof laws were enacted, which excluded 
the ignorant and illiterate from the office of public teachers. 
The opposite side of the question, however, was not with- 
out defenders; and the defects and vices of learned men and 
philosophers contributed much to increase their number, as. 
will appear in the progress of this history. 



118 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 



CHAPTER II. 

CONCERNING THE TEACHERS AND MINISTERS OF THE CHURCH, AND THE 
FORM OF ITS GOVERNMENT, 

The form of church government — association of provincial churches — origin 
of provincial churches — orioin of councils — the authority of bishops in- 
creased by these councils — artful parallel drawn between the christian and 
the Jewish priesthood: — principal writers. 

The form of church government, whose commencement 
we have seen in the last century, was brought, in this, to a 
greater degree of stability and consistence. One inspector, 
or bishop, presided over each christian assembly, to which of- 
fice be was elected by the voices of the whole people. In 
this post he was to be watchful and provident, attentive to 
the wants of the church, and careful to supply them. To 
assist him in this laborious province, he formed a council of 
presbyters, which was not confined to any fixed number; and 
to each of these he distributed his task, and appointed a sta- 
tion, in which he was to promote the interests of the church. 
To the bishops and presbyters, the ministers, or deacons, 
were subject; and the latter were divided into a variety of 
classes, as the different exigencies of the church required. 

During a great part of this century, the christian churches 
were independent on each other; nor were they joined to- 
gether by association, confederacy, or any other bonds but 
those of charity. Each christian assembly was a little state, 
governed by its own laws, which were either enacted, or at 
least approved by the society. But, in process of time, all 
the christian churches of a province were formed into one 
large church body, which, like confederate states, assembled 
at certain times, in order to deliberate about the common 
interests of the whole. This institution had its origin among 
the Greeks, with whom nothing was more common than . 
this confederacy of independent states, and the regular as- 
semblies, w T hich met, in consequence thereof, at fixed times, 
and were composed of the deputies of each respective state. 
But these church associations were not long confined to the 
Greeks; their great utility was no sooner perceived than they 
became universal, and were formed in all places where the 



TEACHERS, CHURCH GOVERNMENT, &C. 1 1 9 

gospel had been planted. To these assemblies, in which the 
deputies or commissioners of several churches consulted to- 
gether, the name of synods was appropriated by the Greeks 
and that of councils by the Latins; and the laws that were 
enacted in these general meetings were called canons, i. e. 
rules. 

These councils, of which we find not the smallest trace 
before the middle of this century, changed the whole face of 
the church, and gave it a new form; for by them the ancient 
privileges of the people were considerably diminished, and 
the power and authority of the bishops considerably aug- 
mented. The humility, indeed, and prudence of these pi- 
ous prelates prevented their assuming all at once the power 
with which they were afterward invested. At their first ap- 
pearance hi these general councils they acknowledged that 
they were no more than the delegates of their respective 
churches, and that they acted in the name and by the ap- 
pointment of their people. But they soon changed this hum- 
ble tone, imperceptibly extended the limits of their autho- 
rity, turned their influence into dominion, their counsels in- 
to laws, and openly asserted at length that Christ had em- 
powered them to prescribe to his people authoritative rules of 
faith and manners. Another effect of these councils was the 
gradual abolition of that perfect equality which reigned 
among all bishops in the primitive times. For the order and 
decency of these assemblies required, that some one of the 
provincial bishops, met in council, should be invested with 
a superior degree of power and authority; and hence the 
rights of metropolitans derive their origin. In the mean time 
the bounds of the church were enlarged; the custom of hold- 
ing councils was followed wherever the sound of the gospel 
had reached, and the universal church had now the appear- 
ance of one vast republic, formed by a combination of a 
great number of little states. This occasioned the creation 
of a new order of ecclesiastics, who were appointed, in dif- 
ferent parts of the world, as heads of the church, and w T hose 
office it was to preserve the consistence and union of that 
immense body, whose members were so widely disperse d 
throughout the nations. Such was the nature and office of 
the patrietrchs, among whom, at length, ambition being ar- 
rived at its most insolent period, formed a new dignity, in- 

ting the bishop of Rome, and his successors, with the ti- 

and authority of prince of the patriarchs. 



120 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 

The christian teachers had the good fortune to persuade 
the people that the ministers of the christian church succeed- 
ed to the character, rights, and privileges of the Jewish 
priesthood; and this persuasion was a new source both of 
honors and profit to the sacred order. This notion was pro- 
pagated with industry, some time after the reign of Adrian, 
when the second destruction of Jerusalem had extinguished 
among the jews all hope of seeing their government restored 
to its former lustre, and their country arising out of ruins. 
And accordingly the bishops considered themselves as inves- 
ted with a rank and character similar to that of the high 
priests among the jews, while the presbyters represented the 
priests, and the deacons the levites. It is, indeed, highly pro- 
bable, that they who first introduced this absurd comparison 
of offices, did it rather through ignorance and error, than 
through artifice or design. The notion, however, once in- 
troduced, produced its natural effects; and these effects were 
pernicious. The errors to which it gave rise were many, and 
one of its immediate consequences was, the establishing a 
greater difference between the christian pastors and their 
flocks than the genius of the gospel seems to admit. 

From the government of the church let us tarn our eyes 
to those who maintained its cause by their learned and ju- 
dicious writings. Among these was Justin, a man of emi- 
nent piety and considerable learning, who, from a pagan 
philosopher became a christian martyr. He had frequented, 
all the different sects of philosophy, in an ardent and impar- 
tial pursuit of truth; and finding, neither among stoics nor 
peripatetics, neither in the pythagorean nor platonic schools, 
any satisfactory account of the perfections of the Supreme 
Being, and the nature and destination of the human soul, 
he embraced Christianity, on account of the light w r hich it 
cast upon these interesting subjects. We have yet remain- 
ing two of his apologies in behalf of the Christians, which 
are deservedly held in high esteem; notwithstanding that. 
in some passages of them he shows himself an unwary dis- 
puter, and betrays a want of acquaintance with ancient his- 
tory. 

IrenaBus, bishop of Lyons, a Greek by birth, and proba- 
bly born of christian parents, a disciple also of Polycarp, by 
whom he was sent to preach the gospel among the Gauls, 
is another of the writers of this century, whose labors were 
singularly useful to the church. He turned his pen against 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 121 

its internal and domestic enemies, by attacking the monstrous, 
errors which were adopted by many of the primitive Chris- 
tians, as appears by his five books against heresies, which 
are yet preserved in a Latin translation, and considered as 
one of the most precious monuments of ancient erudition 

Athenagoras also deserves a place among the estimable 
writers of this age. He was a philosopher of no mean re- 
putation, and his apology for the Christians, as well as his 
Treatise upon the Resurrection, afford striking proofs of his 
learning and genius. 

The works of Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, are more 
remarkable for their erudition, than for their order and me- 
thod; this at least is true of his three books in defence of Chris- 
tianity, addressed to Autolycus. But the most illustrious wri- 
ter of this century, and the most justly renowned for his va- 
rious erudition and his perfect acquaintance with the ancient 
sages, was Clemens, the disciple of Pantsenus, and the head 
of the Alexandrian school, destined for the instruction of the 
catechumens. His Stromata, Pedagogue, and Exhortation 
addressed to the Greeks, which are yet extant, abundantly 
show the extent of his learning and the force of his genius: 
though he is neither to be admired for the precision of his 
ideas, nor the perspicuity of his style. It is also to be la- 
mented that his excessive attachment to the reigning philo- 
sophy led him into a variety of pernicious errors. 

Hitherto we have made no mention of the Latin writers 
who employed their pens in the christian cause. And indeed, 
the only one of any note we find in this century is Tertul- 
Iian, by birth a Carthagenian, who, having first embraced 
the profession of the law, became afterwards a presbyter of 
the church, and concluded by adopting the heretical visions 
of Montanus. He Was a man of extensive learning, of a 
fine genius, and highly admired for his elocution in the Latin 
tongue. We have several works of his yet remaining, which 
were designed to explain and defend the truth, and to nou- 
rish pious affections in the hearts of Christians. There was, 
indeed, such a mixture in the qualities of this man, that it 
is difficult to fix his real character, and to determine which 
of the two were predominant, his virtues or his defects. He 
Was endowed with a great genius, but seemed deficient in 
point of judgment. His piety was warm and vigorous, but 
at the same time melancholy and austere. His learning wa& 
extensive and profound; and yet his credulity and supersti- 



122 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

tion were such as might have been expected from the darkest 
ignorance. And with respect to his reasonings, they had 
more of that subtilty that dazzles the imagination, than of 
that solidity that brings light and conviction to the mind. 



CHAPTER III. 

CONCERNING THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY . 

Simplicity of primitive Christianity — altered by degrees — an example — zeal 
for the holy scriptures — the defects of the ancient interpreters — controversial 
writers—their qualities — moral writers— their merit — double doctrine of mo- 
rality, gives r ise to hermits — why — their progress — pious frauds — the lives 
of Christians — ■excommunication — penitential discipline. 

The christian system, as it was hitherto taught preserved, 
its native and beautiful simplicity, and was comprehended 
in a small number of articles. The public teachers inculca- 
ted no other doctrines, than those that are contained in 
what is commonly called the Apostles' Creed; and, in the 
method of illustrating them, all vain subtilties, all mysterious 
researches, everything that was beyond the reach of com- 
mon capacities, were carefully avoided. This will by no 
means appear surprising to those who consider, that at this 
time, there was not the least controversy about those capital 
doctrines of Christianity, which were afterward so keenly 
debated in the church, and who reflect, that the bishops of 
these primitive times were, for the most part plain and illite- 
rate men, remarkable rather for their piety and zeal, than 
for their learning and eloquence. 

This venerable simplicity was not, indeed, of a long du- 
ration; its beauty was gradually effaced by the laborious 
efforts of human learning, and the dark subtilties of imagi- 
nary science. Acute researches were employed upon seve- 
ral religious subjects, concerning which ingenious decisions 
were pronounced; and, what was worst of all, several ten- 
ets of a chimerical philosophy were imprudently incorpora- 
ted into the christian system. This disadvantageous change, 
this unhappy alteration of the primitive simplicity of the 
christian religion, was chiefly owing to two reasons; the one 
drawn from pride, and the other from a sort of necessity. — 
The former was the eagerness of certain learned men, to 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 123 

bring about a union between the doctrines of Christianity and 
the opinions of the philosophers; for they thought it a very 
tine accomplishment, to be able to express the precepts of 
Christ in the language of philosophers, civilians and rabbins. 
The other reason that contributed to alter the simplicity of 
the christian religion was, the necessity of having recourse 
to logical definitions and nice distinctions, in order to con- 
found the sophistical arguments which the infidel and the 
heretic employed, the one to overturn the christian system, 
and the other to corrupt it. C^rThese philosophical arms, 
in the hands of the judicious and wise, were both honorable 
and useful to religion; but when they came to be handled 
by every ignorant and self-sufficient meddler, as was after- 
ward the case, they produced nothing but perplexity and 
confusion, under which genuine Christianity almost disap- 
peared. 

Many examples might be alleged, which verify the obser- 
vations we have now been making; and, if the reader is de- 
sirous of a striking one, he has only to take a view of the 
doctrines which began to be taught in this century, concern- 
ing the state of the soul after the dissolution of the body. — 
Jesus and his disciples had simply declared, thai the souls 
of good men were, at their departure from their bodies, to 
be received into heaven, while those of the wicked were to 
be sent to hell; and this was sufficient for the first disciples 
of Christ to know, as they had more piety than curiosity, 
and w^ere satisfied with the knowledge of this solemn fact, 
without any inclination to penetrate its manner, or to pry 
into its secret reasons. But this plain doctrine was soon 
disguised, when Platonism began to infect Christianity. 
Plato had taught, that the souls of heroes, of illustrious men, and 
eminent philosophers alone, ascended, after death, into the man- 
sions of light a Jid fliciiy ; white those of the generality weighed 
dawn by their lusts and passions, sunk into the infernal regions, 
from vchencc they were not permitted to emerge, before V ey were 
purified from their turpitude and corruption. This doctrine 
was seized with avidity by the Platonic Christians, and ap- 
plied as a commentary upon that of Jesus. Hence a no- 
tion prevailed, that the martyrs only entered upon a state of 
happiness immediately after death, and that for the rest, a 
certain obscure region was assigned in which they were to 
be imprisoned until the second coming of Christ, or, at least, 
until they were purified from their various pollutions. This 



124 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

doctrine, enlarged and improved upon by the irregular fan- 
cies of injudicious men, became a source of innumerable 
errors, vain ceremonies, and monstrous superstitions. 

But, however the doctrines of the gospel may have been 
abused by the commentaries and interpretations of different 
sects, yet all were unanimous in regarding with veneration 
the holy scriptures, as the great rule of faith and manners; 
and hence that laudable and pious zeal of adapting them to 
general use. We have mentioned already the translations 
that were made of them into different languages, and it will 
not be improper to say something here concerning those who 
employed their useful labors in explaining and interpreting 
them. Pantsenus, the head of the Alexandrian school, was 
probably the first, who enriched the church with a version 
of the sacred writings, which has been lost among the ruins 
of time. The same fate attended the commentary of Cle- 
mens the Alexandrian, upon the canonical epistles; and also 
another celebrated work of the same author, in which he is 
said to have explained, in a compendious manner, almost 
all the sacred writings. The harmony of the Evangelists, com- 
posed by Tatian, is yet extant. But; the exposition of the Rev- 
elation, by Justin Martyr, and of the four gospels by Theophi- 
lus, bishop of Antioch, together with several illustrations of 
the Mosaic History of the creation, by other ancient writers, 
are all lost. 

The loss of these ancient productions is the less to be re- 
gretted, as we know, with certainty, their vast inferiority to 
the expositions of the holy scriptures that appeared in suc- 
ceeding times. Among the persons already mentioned, there 
was none who deserved the name of an eminent and judi- 
cious interpreter of the sacred text. They all attributed a 
double sense to the words of Scripture, the one obvious and lit- 
eral, the other hidden and mysterious, which lay concealed, 
as it were, under the veil of the outward letter. The for- 
mer they treated with tue utmost neglect, and turned the 
whole force of their genius and application to unfold the 
latter; or, in other words, they were more studious to darken 
t.ii'i ho'ty scriptures with their idle Jictions than to investigate 
their true and natural sense, Some of them also forced the ex- 
pressions of sacred writ out of their obvious meaning in order to 
apply them to the support of their philosophical systems; of which 
dangerous and pernicious attempts, Clemens, of Alexandria 
is said to have given the first example. With respect to 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 125 

the expositors of the Old Testament in this century, we shall 
only make this general remark, that their excessive venera- 
tion for the Alexandrian version, commonly called the Sep- 
tuagint, which they regarded almost of divine authority, 
conrined their views, fettered, as it were, their critical spirit, 
and i indered them from producing any thing excellent in 
the way of sacred criticism or interpretation. 

If this age was not very fertile in sacred criticisms, it was 
still less so in expositors of the doctrinal parts of religion; 
for hitherto there was no attempt made, at least that is come 
to our knowledge, of composing a system, or complete view 
of the christian doctrine. Some treaties of Arabian, rela- 
tive to this subject, are indeed mentioned; but as they are 
lost, and seem not to have been much known by any of 
the writers whose works have survived them, we can form 
no conclusions concerning them. The books of Papias. con- 
cerning the sayi rigs of Christ and his apostles, were, according 
'to the accounts which Eusebius gives of them, rather an his- 
torical commentary, than a theological system. Melito, bish- 
op of Sardis, is said to have writ en several treatises, one 
concerning faith, another on the creation, a third concerning 
the church, and a fourth concerning truth-, but it does not ap- 
pear from the titles of these writings, whether they were of 
a doctrinal or controversial nature. Several of The polem- 
ic writers, indeed, have been naturally led, in the course of 
controversy, to explain amply certain points of religion. — 
But those doctrines, which have not been disputed, are very 
rarely defined with such accuracy, by the ancient writers, 
as to point out to us clearly what their opinions concerning 
them were. And from hence it ought not to appear surpri- 
sing, that all the different sects of Christians, pretend to find 
in the writings of the fathers, decisions favorable to their 
respective tenets. 

The controversial writers, who shone in this century, had 
three different sorts of adversaries to combat; the Jews, the 
Pagans, and those, who, in the bosom of Christianity, cor- 
rupted its doctrines, and produced various sects and divi- 
sions in the church. Justin Martyr, and Tertullian, embark- 
ed in a controversy with the Jews, which it was not possible 
for them to manage with the highest success and dexterity , 
as they were very little acquainted with the language, the 
history, and the learning of the Hebrews, and wrote with 
more levity and inaccuracy, than was justifiable on such a 



126 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHUR€H. 

subject. Of those who managed the cause of Christianity 
against the pagans, some performed this important task by 
composing apologies for the Christians; and others by address- 
ing pathetic exhortations to the Gentiles. Among the for- 
mer were Athenagoras, Melito, Quadratus, Miltiades, Aristi- 
des, Tatian, and Justin Martyr; and among the latter, Ter- 
tullian, Clemens, Justin, and Theophilus bishop of Antioch. 
All these writers attacked, with judgment, dexterity and 
success, the pagan superstition, and also defended the Chris- 
tians, in a victorious manner, against all the calumnies and 
aspersions of their enemies. But they did not succeed so 
well in unfolding the true nature and genius of Christianity, 
nor were the arguments they made use of to demonstrate 
its truth and divinity so full of energy, so striking and irre- 
sistible, as those by which they overturned the pagan system. 
In a word, both their explication and defence of many of 
the doctrines of Christianity are defective and unsatisfacto- 
ry in several respects. As to those who directed their pole- 
mic efforts against the heretics, their number w r as prodigious, 
though few of their writings have come down to our times. 
Irenaeus refuted the whole tribe, in a work destined solely 
for that purpose. Clemens, Tertullian, and Justin Martyr, 
wrote also against all the sectaries; but the work of the 
last, upon that subject is not extant. It would be endless 
to mention those who combated particular errors, of whose 
writings, also, many have disappeared amidst the decays of 
time, and the revolutions that have happened in the republic 
of letters. 

If the primitive defenders of Christianity were not always 
happy in the choice of their arguments, yet they discovered 
more candor and probity than those of the following ages. 
The artifice of sophistry, and the habit of employing pious 
frauds in support of the truth, had not, as yet, infected the 
Christians. And this indeed, is all that can be said in their 
behalf; for they are worthy of little admiration on account 
of the accuracy or depth of their reasonings. The most of 
them appear to have been destitute of penetration, learning, 
order, application, and force. They frequently make use of 
arguments, void of all solidity, and much more proper to 
dazzle the fancy, than to enlighten and convince the mind. 
One, laying aside the sacred writings, from whence all the 
weapons of religious controversy ought to be drawn, refers 
to the decisions of those bishops who ruled the apostolic 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 127 

clmrches. Another thinks, that the antiquity of a doctrine 
is a mark of its truth, and pleads prescription against his ad- 
versaries, as if he was maintaining his property before a 
civil magistrate; than which method of disputing nothing- 
can be more pernicious to the cause of truth. A third imi- 
tated those wrong headed disputants among the Jews, who, 
infatuated with their cabalistic jargon, offered as arguments, 
the imaginary powers of certain mystic words and chosen 
numbers. Nor do they seem to err, who are of opinion, that 
in this century, that vicious method of disputing which af- 
terward obtained the name of economical, was first introduced. 

The principal points of morality were treated of by Justin 
rtvr, or at least by the writer of the epistle to Sena and 
Serenus which is to be found among the works of that cele- 
brated author. Many other writers confined themselves to 
particular branches of the moral system, which they handled 
with much attention and zeal. Thus Clemens, of Alexan- 
dria, wrote several treatises concerning calumny, patience, 
continence, and other virtues, which discourses have not 
reached our times. Those of Tertullian upon chastity, upon 
flight in the ttme of persecution, as also w^on fasting y shows, fe- 
male ornaments and prayer, have survived the waste of time, 
and might be read with much fruit, were the style in which 
they are written less labored and difficult, and the spirit they 
breathe less melancholy and morose. 

Learned men are not unanimous concerning the degree 
of esteem that is due to the authors now mentioned, and the 
other ancient moralists. Some represent them as the most 
excellent guides in the paths of piety and virtue; while oth- 
ers place them in the very lowest rank of moral writers, con- 
sider them as the very worst of all instructors, and treat 
their decisions as perfectly insipid, and in many respects per- 
nicious. We leave the decision of this point to such as are 
more capable of pronouncing decisively upon it than we 
pretend to be. It however appears to us incontestible, that 
in the writings of the primitive fathers, there are several 
sublime sentiments, judicious thoughts, and many things 
that are naturally adapted to form a religious temper, and 
to excite pious and virtuous affections; while it must be con- 
fessed, on the other hand, that they abound still more with 
precepts of an excessive and unreasonable austerity, with 
stoical and academical dictates, vague and indeterminate 
notions and what is yet worse, with decisions that are ab- 



128 INTERNAL HI3T0RY OF THE CHURCH. 

solutely false, and in evident opposition to the precepts of 
Christ. Before the question mentioned above, concerning 
the merit of the ancient fathers, as moralists, be decided, a 
previous question must be determined, viz. What is meant 
by a bad director in point of morals? and, if by such a per- 
son be meant one who has no determinate notion of the na- 
ture and limits of the duties incumbent upon Christians, no 
clear and distinct ideas of virtue and vice, who has not pe- 
netrated the spirit and genius of those sacred books, to which, 
alone we must appeal in every dispute about christian vir- 
tue, and who, in consequence thereof, fluctuates often in 
uncertainty, or falls into error in explaining the divine laws; 
though he may frequently administer subiime and pathetic 
instruction; if by a bad guide in morals, such a person as 
we have now delineated, be meant, then it must be con- 
fessed, that this title belongs indisputably to many of the 
lathers. 

The cause of morality, and, indeed, of Christianity in ge- 
neral, suffered deeply by a capital error which was received 
in this century; an error admitted without any evil design, 
but yet with the utmost imprudence, and w r hich, through 
every period of the church, even until the present time, has 
produced other errors without number, and multiplied the 
evils under which the gospel has so often groaned. Jesus 
Christ prescribed to his disciples, one and all, the same rule 
of life and manners. But certain christian teachers, either 
through a desire of imitating the nations among whom they 
lived, or in consequence of a natural propensity to a life of 
austerity, which is a disease not uncommon in Syria, Egypt, 
and other eastern provinces, were induced to maintain that 
Christ had established a double rule of sanctity and virtue, for 
two different orders of Christians. Of these rules the one 
was ordinary, the other extraordinary; the one of a lower 
dignity, the other more sublime; the one for persons in the 
active scenes of life, the other for those, who in a sacred re- 
treat, aspired after the glory of a celestial state. In conse- 
quence of this w T ild system they divided into two parts all 
those moral doctrines and instructions which they had re- 
ceived either by writing or tradition. One of these divisions 
they called precepts, and the other counsels. They gave the 
name of precepts to those laws which were universally obli- 
gatory upon all orders of men; and that of counsels to those 
4hat related to Christians of a more sublime rank, who pro- 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 129 

posed to themselves great and glorious ends, and breathed 
after an intimate communion with the Supreme Being. 

This double doctrine produced, all of a sudden, a new set 
of men, who made profession of uncommon degrees of 
sanctity and virtue, and declared their resolution of obeying 
all the counsels of Christ, in order to their enjoying commu- 
nion with God here: and also, that after the dissolution of 
their mortal bodies, they might ascend to him with the 
greater facility, and find nothing to retard their approach to 
the supreme centre of happiness and affection. They looked 
upon themselves as prohibited the use of things, which it 
was lawful for other Christians to enjoy, such as wine,Jlesh, 
matrimony, and commerce. They thought it their indispensa- 
ble duty to extenuate the body by watchings, abstinence, 
labor, and hunger. They looked for felicity in solitary re- 
treats, in desert places, where, by severe and assiduous ef- 
forts of sublime meditation, they raised the soul above all 
external objects and all sensual pleasures. Both men and 
women imposed on themselves the most severe tasks, the most 
austere discipline; all which, ho>vever the fruit of pious in- 
tention, was, in the issue, extremely detrimental to Christi- 
anity. These persons were called ascetics, (spoudaioi eclec- 
toi) and philosophers; nor were they only distinguished by 
their title from other Christians, but also by their garb. In 
this century, indeed, such as embraced this austere kind of 
life submitted themselves to all these mortifications in pri- 
vate, without breaking asunder their social bonds, or with- 
drawing themselves from the concourse of men. But iu 
process of time they retired into deserts; and, after the ex- 
ample of the Essenes and Therapeutse, they formed them- 
selves into certain companies. 

Nothing is more obvious than the reasons that gave rise 
to this austere sect. One of the principal was the ill-judged 
ambition of the Christians to resemble the Greeks and Ro- 
mans, many of whose sages and philosophers distinguished 
themselves from the generality by their maxims, by their 
habit, and indeed by the whole plan of life and manners 
which they had formed to themselves, and by which they ac- 
quired a high degree of esteem and authority. It is also 
well known that of all these philosophers there were none 
whose sentiments and discipline were so well received by 
the ancient Christians as those of the pi atonies and Pytha- 
goreans, who prescribed in their lessons two rules of con- 



130 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH., 

duct; one for the sages, who aspired to the sublimest heights 
of virtue, and another for the people, involved in the cares 
and hurry of an active life. The law of moral conduct, 
which the platonics prescribed to the philosophers, was as 
follows: "the soul of the wise man ought to be removed to 
the greatest possible distance from the contagious influence 
of the body. And as the depressing weight of the body, the 
force of its appetites, and its connections with a corrupt 
world, are in direct opposition to this sacred obligation; 
therefore all sensual pleasures are to be carefully avoided, the 
body is to be supported, or rather extenuated, by a slender 
diet; solitude is to be sought as the true mansion of virtue; 
and contemplation to be employed as the means of raising the 
soul, as far as is possible, to a sublime freedom from all cor- 
poreal ties, and to a noble elevation above all terrestrial 
things. The person who lives in this manner shall enjoy, 
even in the present state, a certain degree of communion 
with the Deity; and when the corporeal mass is dissolved, 
shall immediately ascend to the sublime regions of felicity 
and perfection, without passing through that state of purifi- 
cation and trial that awaits the generality of mankind." It 
is easy to perceive, that this rigorous discipline was a natu- 
ral consequence of the peculiar opinions which these philo- 
sophers, and some others that resembled them, entertained, 
concerning the nature of the soul, the influence of matter, the 
operations of invisible beings or demons, and the formation of 
the world. And as these opinions were adopted by the more 
learned among the Christians, it was but natural that they 
should embrace also the moral discipline which flowed from 
them. 

There is a particular consideration that will en able'' us to 
render a natural account of the origin of those religious se- 
verities, of which we have been now speaking, and that is 
drawn from the genius of the people by whom they were 
first practised. It was in Egypt that this morose discipline 
had its rise; and it is observable, that that country has, in 
all times, as it were by an immutable law, or disposition of 
nature, abounded with persons of a melancholy complexion 
and produced, in proportion to its extent, more gloomy spi- 
rits than other part of the world. It was here that the Esse- 
nes and the Therapeutse, those gloomy sects, dwelt princi- 
pally, long before the coming of Christ; as also many others 
of the ascetic tribe; who, led by a certain melancholy turn 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 131 

of mind, and a delusive notion of rendering themselves more 
acceptable to the Deity by their austerities, withdrew them- 
selves from human society, and from all the innocent plea- 
sures of life. From Egypt this sour and unsociable discipline 
passed into Syria, and the neighboring countries, which also 
abounded with person* of the same dismal constitution with 
that of the Egyptians, and from thence, in process of time, 
its infection reached the European nations. Hence that train 
of austere and superstitious vows and rites, that yet, in 
many places, cast a veil over the beauty and simplicity of 
the christian religion. Hence the celibacy of the priestly or- 
der, the rigor of unprofitable penances and mortifications, 
the innumerable swarms of monks that refused their talents 
and labors to society, and this in pursuit of a visionary sort 
of perfection. Hence also that distinction bet w r e en the theore- 
tical and mistical life, and many other fancies of a like na- 
ture, which we shall have occasion to. mention, in the course 
of this history. 

It is generally true, that delusions travel in a train, and 
that one mistake produces many. The Christians who adopt- 
ed the austere system already mentioned, had certainly 
made a very false step, and done much injury to their excel- 
lent and most reasonable religion. But they did not stop 
here; another erroneous practise was adopted by them, 
which, though it was not so universal as the other, was yet 
extremely pernicious, and proved a source of numberless 
evils to the christian church. The platonists and Pythago- 
reans held it as a maxim, that it was not only lawful, but 
even praiseworthy to deceive, and even to use the expedient 
of a/£?,in order to advance the cause of truth find piety. The 
Jews, who lived in Egypt, had learned and received this 
maxim from them, before the coming of Christ, as appears 
incontestably from a multitude of ancient records; and the 
Christians were infected from both these sources with the 
same pernicious error> as appears from the number of 
hooks attributed falsely to great and venerable names, from 
the Sibylline verses, and several suppositious productions 
which were spread abroad in this and the following century. 
It does not, indeed, seem, probable that all these p'ous frauds 
were chargeable upon the professors of real Christianity, upon 
those who entertained just and reasonable sentiments of the 
religion of Jesus. The greatest part of the se fictitious wri- 
tings undoubtedly flowed from the fertile invention of the 



132 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

gnostic sects, though it cannot be affirmed that even true 
Christians were entirely innocent and irreproachable in this 
matter. 

As the boundaries of the church were enlarged, the num- 
ber of vicious and irregular persons who entered into it 
were proportionably increased, as appears from the many 
complaints and censures that w T e find from the writers ot this 
century. Several methods were made use of, to stem the 
torrent of iniquity. Excommunication was peculiarly em- 
ployed to prevent or punish the most heinous and enormous 
crimes; and the crimes esteemed such were murder, idolatry, 
and adultery, which terms, however, we must here under- 
stand in their more full and extensive sense. In some pla- 
ces, the commission of any of these sins cut off irrevocably 
the criminal from all hopes of restoration to the privileges of 
church communion; in others, after a long, laborious, and 
painful course of probation, and discipline, they were re-ad- 
mitted into the bosom of the church. 

It is hereto be attentively observed* that the form used in 
the exclusion of heinous offenders from the society of Chris- 
tians, was, at first, extremely simple. A small number of 
plain, yet judicious rules, made up the w 7 hole of this solemn 
institution, which, how r ever, was imperceptibly altered, en- 
larged by an addition of a vast multitude of rites, and new 
modelled, according to the discipline used in tue heathen 
mysteries. Those who have any acquaintance with the sin- 
gular reasons that obliged the Christians of those ancient 
times to be careful in restraining the progress of vice, will 
readily grant, that it was incumbent on the rulers of the 
church to perfect their discipline, and to render the re- 
straints upon iniquity more severe. They will justify the 
rulers of the primitive church in their refusing to restore ex- 
communicated members to their forfeited privileges, before 
they had given incontestable marks of the sincerity of their 
repentance. Yet still it remains to be examined, whether it 
was expedient to borrow from the enemies of truth the rules 
of this salutary discipline, and thus to sanctify, in some mea- 
sure, a part of the heathen superstition. But, however de- 
licate such a question may be, when determined with a 
view to all the indirect or immediate consequences of the 
matter, in debate, the equitable and candid judge will con- 
sider principally the good intention of those from whom 
these ceremonies and institutions proceed, and will overlook 



RITES AND CEREMONIES. 133 

the rest, from a charitable condescension and indulgence to 
human weakness. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OF THE CEREMONIES USED IN THE CHURCH DURING THIS PERIOD. 

Ceremonies multiplied — the causes — the christian assemblies — disputes about 
Easter — prevailed between the Asiatics and Romans — celebration of the 
Lord's supper — baptism. 

There is no institution so pure and excellent, which the 
corruption and folly of man will not, in time, alter for the 
worse, and load with additions foreign to its nature and ori- 
ginal design. Such, in a particular manner, was the fate 
of Christianity! In this century, many unnecessary rites and 
ceremonies were added to the christian worship, the intro- 
duction of which was extremely offensive to wise and good 
men. These changes, while they destroyed the beautiful s in- 
plicity of the gospel, were naturally pleasing to the gross multi- 
tude, who are more delighted with the pomp and splendor 
of external institutions, than with the native charms of ra- 
tional and solid piety, and who generally give little attention 
to any objects but those which strike their outward senses. 
But other reasons may be added to this, which, though they 
suppose no bad intentions, yet manifest a considerable de- 
gree of precipitation and imprudence. 

And here we may observe in the first place, that there is 
a high degree of probability in the notion of those who 
think that the bishops augmented the number of religious 
rites in the christian worship by way of accommodation to 
the infirmities and prejudices of both Jews and heathens, in 
order thus to facilitate their conversion to Christianity. Both 
Jews and heathens were accustomed to a vast variety of 
pompous and magnificent ceremonies in their religious ser- 
vice. And as they considered these rites as an essential part 
of religion, it was but natural that they should behold with 
indifference, and even with contempt, the simplicity of the 
christian worship, which was destitute of those idle cere- 
monies that rendered their service so specious and striking. 
To remove, then, in some measure, this prejudice against 
Christianity, the bishops thought it necessary to increase the 



134 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

number of rites and ceremonies, and thus to render the pub- 
lic worship more striking to the outward senses. 

This addition of outward rites was also designed to re- 
move the opprobrious calumnies which the Jewish and pa- 
gan priests cast upon the Christians, on account of the sim- 
plicity of their worship, esteeming them little better than 
atheists, because they had no temples, altars, victims, priests, 
nor anything of that external pomp, in which the vulgar are 
so prone to place the essence of religion. The rulers of <he 
church adopted therefore certain external ceremonies, that 
thus they might captivate the senses of the vulgar, and be 
able to refute the reproaches of their enemies. OCrThis, it 
must be confessed, was a very awkward and indeed a very 
pernicious stratagem; it was obscuring the native lustre of 
the gospel, in order to extend its influence, and making it 
lose in point of real excellence what it gained in popular es- 
teem. Some accommodations to the infirmities of mankind, 
some prudent instances of condescension to their invincible 
prejudices, are necessary in ecclesiastical as well as in civil 
institutions; but they must be of such a nature as not to in- 
spire ideas, or encourage prejudices, incompatible with just 
sentiments of the great object of religious worship, and of 
the fundamental truths which God has imparted by reason 
and revelation to the human race. How far this rule has 
been disregarded and violated, will appear too plainly in 
the progress of this history. 

A third cause of the multiplication of rites and ceremonies 
in the christian church may be deduced from the abuse of 
certain titles that distinguished the sacerdotal orders among 
the Jews. Every one knows, that many terms used in the 
New Testament, to express the different parts of the chris- 
tian doctrine and worship are borrowed from the Jewish law, 
or have a certain analogy with the rites and ceremonies in- 
stituted by Moses. The christian teachers did not only imi- 
tate this analogical manner of speaking, but they even ex- 
tended it further than the apostles had done. And though in 
this there was nothing worthy of reproach, yet the conse- 
quences of this method of speaking became, through abuse, 
detrimental to the purity of the gospel. For, in process of 
time, many asserted, whether through ignorance or artifice 
is not easy to determine, that the forms of speech were not 
figurative, but highly proper, and exactly suitable to the na- 
ture of the things they were designed to express. The bish* 



RITES AND CERE-MONIES, 135 

ops, by an innocent allusion to the Jewish manner of speak- 
ing, had been called chief priests; the ciders or presbyters had 
received the title of priests, and the deacons that of levites. 
But, in a little time these titles were abused by an aspiring 
clergy, who thought proper to claim the same rank and sta- 
tion, the same rights and privileges that were conferred with 
those titles upon the ministers of religion, under the Mosaic 
dispensation. Hence the rise of tithes, first fruits, splendid 
garments, and many other circumstances of external gran- 
deur, by which ministers were eminently distinguished. In 
like manner the comparison of the christian oblations with the 
Jewish victims and sacrifices produced a multitude of unne- 
cessary rites, and was the occasion of introducing that erro- 
neous notion of the eucharist, which represents it as a real 
sacrifice, and not merely as a commemoration of that great 
offering that was made upon the cross for the sins of mortals. 

The profound respect that was paid to the Greek and Ro- 
man mysteries, and the extraordinary sanctity that was attri- 
buted to them, was another circumstance that induced the 
Christians to give their religion a mysti: air, in order to put 
it upon an equal foot, in point of dignity, with that of the 
pagans. For this purpose they gave the name of mysteries to 
the institutions of the gospel, and decorated particularly the 
holy sacrament with that solemn title. They used in that sa- 
cred institution, as also in that of baptism, several of the 
terms employed in the heathen mysteries; and proceeded so 
far, at length, as even to adopt some of the rites and cere- 
monies of which these renowned mysteries consisted. This 
imitation began in the eastern provinces, but after the time 
of Adrian, who first introduced the mysteries among the La- 
tins, it Was followed by the Christians who dwelt in the 
western parts of the empire. A great part, therefore, of the 
service of the church, in this century, had a certain air of 
the heathen mysteries, and resembled them considerably in 
many particulars. 

It may be yet further observed, that the custom of teach- 
ing their religious doctrines by images, actions, signs, and 
other sensible representations, winch prevailed among the 
Egyptians, and indeed in almost all the eastern nations, was 
another cause of the increase of external rites in the church. 
As there were many persons of narrow capacities, whose 
comprehension scarcely extended beyond sensible objects, 
the christian teachers thought it advisable to instruct such 



13b INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

in the essential truths of the gospel, by placing these truths- 
as it were before their eyes, under sensible images. Thus 
they administered milk and honey, which was the ordinary 
food of infants, to such as were newly received into the 
church, showing them, by this sign, that by their baptism they 
were born again and were bound to manifest the simplicity 
and innocence of infants in their lives and conversations. 
Certain military rites were borrowed to express the new and 
solemn engagements by which Christians attached them- 
selves to Christ as their leader and chief; and the ancient 
ceremony of manumission was used to signify the liberty of 
which they were made partakers, in consequence of their 
redemption from the guilt and dominion of sin, and their 
deliverance from the empire of the prince of darkness. 

If it be considered, in the first place, that the Christians 
who composed the church were Jews and heathens, accus- 
tomed, from their birth, to various insignificant ceremonies 
and superstitious rites; and if it be also considered, that such 
a long course of custom and education forms prejudices that 
are extremely obstinate and difficult to be conquered, it will 
then appear that nothing less than a continued miracle could 
have totally prevented the entrance of all superstitious mix- 
tures into the christian worship. A single example will tend 
to the illustration of this matter. Before the coming of Christ 
all the eastern nations performed divine worship with their 
faces turned to that part of the heavens where the sun dis- 
plays his rising beams. This custom was founded upon a ge- 
neral opinion, that God, whose essence they looked upon to 
be light, and whom they considered as circumscribed within 
certain limits, dwelt in that part of the firmament, from 
whence he sends forth the sun, the bright image of his be- 
nignity and glory. They who embraced the christian reli- 
gion rejected, indeed, this gross error, but they retained the 
ancient and universal custom of worshiping toward the east 
which sprung from it. Nor is that custom abolished in our 
times, but still prevails in a great number of christian church- 
es. From this same source arose various rites, among the 
Jews, which many Christians, especially those who live in 
the eastern countries, observe religiously at this very da#. 

We shall take no more than a brief view of these rites and 
ceremonies, since a particular detail would lead us into end- 
less discussions, and open afield too vast to be comprehend- 
ed in such a history as we here give of the christian church. 



RITES AND CEREMONIES. 137 

The first Christians assembled for the purposes of divine 
worship, in private houses, in caves, and in vaults, where the 
dead were buried. Their meetings were on the first day of 
the week, and in some places they assembled also on the se- 
venth, which was celebrated by the Jews. Many also ob- 
served the fourth day of the week, on which Christ was be- 
trayed; and the sixth, which was the day of his crucifixion. 
The hour of the day, appointed for holding these religious 
assemblies varied, according to the different times and cir- 
cumstances of the church; but it was generally in the eve- 
ning after sunset, or in the morning before the dawn. Du- 
ring these sacred meetings prayers were repeated, the holy 
scriptures were publicly read, short discourses, upon the du- 
ties of Christians were addressed to the people, hymns were 
sung, and a portion of the oblations, presented by the faith- 
ful, was employed in the celebration of the Lord's supper, 
and the feasts of charity. 

The Christians of this century celebrated anniversary fes- 
tivals, in commemoration of the death and resurrection of 
Christ, and the effusion of the Holy Ghost upon the apos- 
tles. The day which was observed as the anniversary of 
Christ's death, was called the paschal day, or passover, be- 
cause it was looked upon to be the same as that on which 
the Jews celebrated the feast of that name. In the manner, 
however, of observing this solemn day, the Christians of the 
.Lesser Asia differed much from the rest, and in a more es- 
pecial manner from those of Rome. They both, indeed, 
fasted, during the great week — so that was called in which 
Christ died — and afterward celebrated, like the Jews, a sa- 
cred feast, at which they distributed a paschal lamb, in me- 
mory of our Savior's last supper. But the Asiatic Christians 
kept this feast on the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, 
at the time that the Jews celebrated their passover, and 
three days after, commemorated the resurrection of the tri- 
umphant Redeemer. They affirmed, that they had derived 
this custom from the apostles John and Philip, and pleaded, 
moreover, in its behalf, the example of Christ himself, who 
held his pashal feast on the same day that the Jews celebra- 
ted their passover. The western churches observed a differ- 
ent method. They celebrated their paschal feast on the night 
that preceded the anniversary of Christ's resurrection, and 
thus connected the Savior's crucifixion, with that of his vic- 
tory over death and the grave. Nor did they differ thus from 



138 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

the Asiatics, without alleging also apostolic authority for 
what they did; for they pleaded that of St. Peter and St. 
Paul, as a justification of their conduct in this matter. 

The Asiatic rule for keeping the paschal feast, was attend- 
ed with two great inconveniences, to which the Christians 
at Alexandria and Rome, and the whole western churches 
refused to submit. For, in the first place, as the Asiatics 
celebrated their festival the same day that Christ is said to 
have ate the paschal lamb with his disciples, this occasioned 
an inevitable interruption in the fast of the great week, which 
the other churches looked upon as almost criminal, at least 
as highly indecent. Nor was this the only inconveniency ari- 
sing from this rule; for as they celebrated the memory of 
Christ's resurrection, precisely the third day after their pas- 
chal supper, it happened, for the most part, that this great 
festival, which was afterwards called by the Latins pascha 
and to which we give the name of Easter, was held on 
other days of the week than the jirst. This circumstance 
was extremely displeasing to by far the greatest part of the 
Christians, who thought it unlawful to celebrate the resur- 
rection of our Lord on any day but Sunday, as that was the 
day on which this glorious event happened. Hence arose 
sharp and vehement contentions between the Asiatic and 
western Christians. About the middle of this century, during 
the reign of Antoninus Pius, the venerable Polycarp came to 
Rome, to confer with Anicet, bishop of that see, upon this 
matter, with a view to terminate the warm disputes it had 
occasioned. But this conference, though conducted with great 
decency and moderation, was without effect. Polycarp and 
Anicet were only agreed in this, that the bonds of charity 
were not to be broken on account of this controversy, but 
they continued at the same time, each in their former senti- 
ments, nor could the Asiatics be engaged, by any argu- 
ments, to alter the iu!e which they pretended to have re- 
ceived by tradition from St. John. 

Toward the conclusion of this century Victor, bishop of 
Rome, took it into his head to force the Asiatic Christians, 
by the pretended authority of his laws and decrees, to follow 
the rule which was observed in the western churches in this 
matter. Accordingly, after having taken the advice of some 
foreign bishops, he wrote an imperious letter to the Asiatic 
prelates, commanding them to imitate the example of the 
western Christians, with respect to the time of celebrating 



RITES AND CEREMONIES. 139 

the festival of Easter. The Asiatics answered this lordly sum- 
mons by the pen of Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, who de- 
clared, in their name, and that with great spirit and resolu- 
tion, that they would by no means depart, in this matter, 
from the custom handed down to them by their ancestors. 
Upon this the thunder of excommunication began to roar. 
Victor, exasperated by this resolute answer of the Asiatic 
bishops, broke communion with them, pronounced them un- 
worthy the name of his brethren, and excluded them from 
all fellowship with the church of Rome. This excommuni- 
cation, indeed, extended no further; nor could it cut off the 
Asiatic bishops from communion with the other churches, 
whose bishops were far from approving the conduct of Vic- 
tor. The progress of this violent dissension was stopped by 
the wise and moderate remonstrances which Irenaeus, bishop 
of Lyons, addressed to the Roman prelate upon this occa- 
sion, in which he showed him the imprudence and injustice 
of the step he had taken, and also by the long letter which 
the Asiatic Christians wrote in their own justification. In 
consequence therefore of this cessation of arms the comba- 
tants retained each their own customs, until the fourth cen- 
tury, when the council of Nice abolished that of the Asia- 
tics, and rendered the time of the celebration of Easter the 
same through all the christian churches. 

In these times the sacrament of the Lord's supper was ce- 
lebrated, for the most part, on Sundays, and the ceremonies 
observed upon that occasion were such as follow: apart of 
the bread and wine which was presented, among the other 
oblations of the faithful, was separated from the rest, and 
consecrated by the prayers of the bishop. The wine was 
mixed with water, and the bread was divided into several 
portions. A part of the consecrated bread and wine was 
carried to the sick or absent members of the church, as a 
testimony of fraternal love, sent them by the whole society. 
It appears by many and undoubted testimonies, that this 
holy rite was looked upon as essential to salvation; and we 
shall be less disposed to censure as erroneous, the opinion of 
those who have affirmed that the Lord's supper was adminis- 
tered to infants during this century. The feasts of charity that 
followed the celebration of the Lord's supper, have been 
mentioned already. The sacrament of baptism was admi- 
nistered publicly twice every year, at the festivals of Easier 
and Pentecost or Whitsuntide, either by the bishop or the 



140 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

presbyters, in consequence of his authorization and appoint- 
ment. The persons that were to be baptized, after they had 
repeated the creed, confessed and renounced their sins, and 
particularly the devil, and his pompous allurements, were 
immersed under water, and received into Christ's kingdom 
by a solemn invocation of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, ac- 
cording to the express command of our Blessed Lord. After 
baptism, they received the sign of the cross, were anointed, 
and by prayer* and imposition of hands, were solemnly com- 
mended to the mercy of God, and dedicated to his service; 
in consequence of which they received milk and honey, which 
concluded the ceremony. The reasons of this particular ri- 
tual coincide with what we have said in general concerning 
the origin and causes of the multiplied ceremonies that crept 
from time to time into the church. 

Adult persons were prepared for baptism by abstinence, 
prayer, and other pious exercises. It was to answer for them 
that sponsors or godfathers were first instituted, though they 
were afterwards admitted also in the baptism of infants. 



CHAPTER V, 

m 
CONCERNING THE HERESIES AND DIVISIO NS THAT TROUBLED THE CHURCH 
DURING THIS CENTURY. 

Origin of theNazarenes and Ebion'tes — sects that arose from the oriental phi- 
losophy — -filxai and his followers-— Sitnrninus and his extravagant fanatics 
Cordo— Ala re ion— Burdesanes — T.ithn — Egyptian gnostics — Basilides — his 
bad doctrine— C trpocrates— Valentine— -his idle dreams — various sects from 
him — the Ophites— Patropassians — Theodotas and Artemon — Hermogenes 
— Moncanus — his doctrine and success. 

Among the many sects which divided the Christian church 
daring this century, it is natural to mention, in the first place, 
that which an attachment to the Mosaic law separated from 
the rest ot their Christian brethren. The first rise of this 
^ect is placed under the reign of Adrian. For, when this 
emperor had, at length, razed Jerusalem, entirely destroyed 
even its very foundations, and enacted laws of the severest 
kind against the whole body of the Jewish people; the grea- 
test part of the Christians who lived in Palestine, to prevent 
their being confounded with the Jews, abandoned entirely 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 141 

the Mosaic rites, and chose a bishop, named Mark, a foreign- 
er by nation, and consequently an alien from the common- 
wealth of Israel. This step was highly shocking 10 those 
whose attachment to the Mosaic rites was violent and invin- 
cible; and such was the case of many. These, therefore, 
separated themselves from the brethren, and founded atPe- 
ra, a country of Palestine, and in the neighboring parts, 
particular assemblies, in which the law of Moses maintain- 
ed its primitive dignity, authority, and lustre. 

This body ofjudaizing Christians, which set Christ and 
Moses upon an equal foot, in point of authority, was after- 
ward divided into two sects, extremely different both in 
their rites and in their opinions, and distinguished by the 
names of Nazarenes and Ebionites. The former are not 
placed by the ancient Christians in the heretical register; 
but the latter were considered as a sect, whose tenets were 
destructive of the fundamental principles of the christian 
religion. These sects made use of a gospel or history of 
Christ, different from that which is received among us, and 
•concerning which there have been many disputes among 
the learned. The term Nazarenes was not originally the 
name of a sect, but that which distinguished the disciples of 
Jesus in general. And as those, w T hom the Greeks called 
Christians, received the name of Nazarenes among the Jews. 
this latter name was not considered as a mark of ignominy 
or contempt. Those, indeed, who, after their separation 
from their brethren, retained the title of Nazarenes, differed 
much from the true disciples of Christ, to whom that name 
had been originally given; "they held, that Christ was born 
of a virgin, and was also in a certain manner united to the 
divine nature; they refused to abandon the cexemonies pre- 
scribed by the law of Moses, but were far from attempting 
to impose the observance of these ceremonies upon the Gen- 
tile Christians; they rejected also all those additions that were 
made to the Mosaic institutions by the pharisees and the 
teachers of the law ; and from hence we may easily see the 
reason why the greatest part of the Christians treated the 
Nazarenes with a more than ordinary degree of gentleness 
and forbearance. 

It is a doubtful matter from whence the Ebionites derived 
their name, whether from that of some of their principal 
teachers, or from their poverty. One thing, however, is cer- 
tain, and that is, that their sentiments and doctrines weje 



142 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

more pernicious than those of the Nazarenes. For though 
they believed the celestial mission of Christ, and his partici- 
pation of a divine nature, yet they regarded him as a man 
born of Joseph and Mary, according to the ordinary course of 
nature. They, moreover, asserted, that the ceremonial law, 
instituted by Moses, was not only obligatory upon the Jews, 
but also upon all others; and that the observance of it was 
essential to salvation. And as St. Paul had very different 
sentiments from them, concerning the obligation of the ce- 
remonial law, and had opposed the observance of it in the 
warmest manner, so of consequence they held this apostle 
in abhorrence, and treated his writings with the utmost dis- 
respect. Nor were they only attached to the rites instituted 
by Moses ; they went still further, and received, with an equal 
degree of veneration, the superstitions of their ancestors, 
and the ceremonies and traditions which the Pharisees pre- 
sumptuously added to the law. 

These obscure and unfrequented heretical assemblies were 
very little detrimental to the christian cause, which suffered 
more from those sects, whose leaders explained the doctrines 
of Christianity in a manner conformable to the dictates of 
the oriental philosophy concerning the origin of evil. The 
oriental teachers, who, before this century had lived in the 
greatest obscurity, came forth from their retreat under the 
reign of Adrian, exposed themselves to public view, and 
gathered together, in various provinces, assemblies, whose 
numbers were very considerable. The ancient records men- 
tion a great number of these demi -christian sects, many of, 
which are no further known by their distinguishing names, 
which perhaps, is the only circumstance in which they differ 
from each other. One division, however, of these oriental 
Christians, may be considered as real and important, since 
the two branches it produced were vastly superior to the 
rest in reputation, and made more noise in the world, than 
the other multiplied subdivisions of this pernicious sect. — 
Of this famous division, one branch, which arose in Asia, pre- 
served the oriental doctrine concerning the origin of the 
world, unmixed with other sentiments and opinions : while 
the other, which was formed in Egypt, made a motley mix- 
ture of this philosophy with the tenets and prodigies adopted 
in the religious system of that superstitious country. The 
doctrine of the former surpassed in simplicity and perspicui- 
ty that of the latter, which consisted of a vast variety of 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 143 

parts, so artfully combined, that the explication of them be- 
came a matter of much difficulty. 

Among the teachers of the Asiatic branch, the first place 
is due to Elxai, a Jew. who, during the reign of Trajan, is 
said to have formed the sect of the Elcesaites. This heretic, 
though a Jew, attached to the worship of one God, and full 
of veneration for Moses, corrupted, nevertheless, the religion 
of his ancestors, by blending with it a multitude of fictions 
drawn from the oriental philosophy ; pretending also, after 
the example of the Essenes, to give a rational explication 
of the law of Moses, he reduced it to a mere allegory. It is , 
at the same time, proper ta observe, that some have doubted 
whether the Elcesaites are to be reckoned among the chris- 
tian or the Jewish sects; and Epiphanius, who was acquain- 
ted with a certain production of Elxai, expresses his uncer- 
tainty in this matter. Elxai, indeed, in that book, mentions 
Christ with the highest encomiums, without, however, ad- 
ding any circumstance from whence it might be concluded 
with certainty, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ of 
whom he spoke. 

If then Elxai be improperly placed among the leaders of 
the sect now under consideration, we may place at its head 
Saturninus of Antioch, who is one of the first gnostic chiefs 
mentioned in history. He held the doctrine of two principles 
from whence proceeded all things; the one a wise and b nevo- 
lent deity; and the other, matter, a principle, essentially evil, and 
which he supposed under the superintendance of a certain 
intelligence of a malignant nature. "The world and its 
first inhabitants were, according to the system of this raving 
philosopher, created by seven angels, which presided over 
the seven planets. This work was carried on without the 
knowledge of the benevolent deity, and in opposition to the 
will of the material principle. The former, however, beheld 
it with approbation, and honored it with several marks of 
his beneficence. He endowed with rational souls the beings 
who inhabited this new system, to whom their creators had 
imparted nothing more than mere animal life; and having 
divided the world into seven parts, he distributed them 
among the seven angelic architects, one of whom was the god 
of the Jews; and reserved to himself the supreme empire 
over all. To these creatures, whom the benevolent principle 
had endowed with reasonable souls, and with dispositions 
that led to goodness and virtue, the evil being, to maintain 



144 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

his empire, added another king, whom he formed of a wick- 
ed and malignant character; and hence the difference we 
see among men. When the creators of the world fell from 
their allegiance to the Supreme Deity, God sent from heaven 
into our globe, a Restore?* of order, whose name was Christ. 
This divine Conqueror came clothed with a corporeal ap- 
pearance, but not with a real body; he came to destroy the 
empire of the material principle, and to point out to virtuous 
souls the way by which they must return to God. This way 
is beset with difficulties and sufferings; since those souls who 
propose returning to the Supreme Being after the dissolu- 
tion of this mortal body, must abstain from wine, flesh, wed- 
lock, and, in short, from every thing that tends to sensual 
gratification, or even bodily refreshment." Saturninus taught 
these extravagant doctrines in Syria, but principally at An- 
tioch, and drew after him many disciples by the pompous 
appearance of an extraordinary virtue. 

Cerdo the Syrian, and Marcion, son of the bishop of Pon- 
tus, belong to the Asiatic sect, though they began to estab- 
lish their doctriiie at Rome, and having given a turn some- 
what different to the oriental superstition, may themselves 
be considered as the heads of a new sect which bears their 
names. Amid the obscurity and doubts that render so un- 
certain the history of these two men, the following fact is in- 
contestable, viz. that Cerdo had been spreading his doctrine 
at Rome before the arrival of Marcion there; and that the 
latter having, through his own misconduct, forfeited a place 
to which he aspired in the church of Rome, attached himself 
through resentment, to the impostor Cerdo, and propagated 
his impious doctrines with an astonishing success throughout 
the world, "After the example of the oriental teachers., 
they held the existence of two principles, the one perfectly 
good, and the other perfectly evil. Between these, they ima- 
gined an intermediate kind of a deity, neither perfectly good 
nor perfectly evil, but of a mixed nature, so Marcion expresses 
it, and so far just and powerful, as to administer rewards and 
inflict punishments. This middle deity is the creator of this 
inferior w 7 orld, and the god and legislator of the Jewish nation: 
he wages perpetual war with the evil principle; and both the 
one and the other aspire to the place of the Supreme Being,, 
and ambitiously attempt subjecting to their authority all the 
inhabitants of the world. The Jews are the subjects of 
that powerful genius who formed this globe; the other na- 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 345 

tions, who worship a variety of gods, are under the empire 
of the evil principle. Both these conflicting powers exercise 
oppressions upon rational and immortal souls, and keep 
them in a tedious and interminable captivity. Therefore, 
the Supreme God, in order to terminate this war, and to 
deliver from their bondage those souls whose origin is celes- 
tial and divine, sent to the Jews a being most like unto him- 
self, even his son Jesus Christ, clothed with a certain sha- 
dowy resemblance of a body, that thus he might be visible 
to mortal eyes. The commission of this celestial Messenger 
was to destroy the empire both of the evil principle and of 
the author of this uorld, and to bring back wandering souls 
to God. On this account he was attacked, with inexpressi- 
ble violence and fury by the prince of darkness, and by the 
^od of the Jews, but without eifect, since, having a body on- 
ly in appearance, he was thereby rendered incapable of suf- 
fering. Those who follow the sacred directions of this ce- 
lestial comforter mortify the body by fastings and austerities, 
call off their minds from the allurements of sense, and, re- 
nouncing the precepts of the god of the Jews, and of the 
prince of darkness, turn their eyes toward the Supreme Be- 
ing, shall, after death, ascend to the mansions of felicity 
and perfection.* 5 In consequence of all this, the rule of 
manners which Marcion prescribed to his followers was ex- 
cessively austere, containing an express prohibition of wed- 
lock, of the use of wine, flesh, and of ail the external com- 
forts of life. Notwithstanding the rigor of this severe dis- 
cipline great numbers embraced the doctrines of Jlarcion, of 
whom Lucan, or Lucian, Severus, Biastes, and principally 
Appelles, are said to have varied, in some things, from the 
opinions of their master, and to have formed new sects. 

Bardesanes and Tatian are commonly supposed to have 
been of the school of Valentine, the Egyptian. Eutthis no- 
tion is entirely without foundation, since their doctrine dif- 
fers in many things from that of the Valentines, approach- 
ing nearer to that of the oriental philosophy, concerning the 
principles. Bardesanes, native of Ldessa, was a man 
of a very acute genius, and acquired a shining reputation 
by his writings, which were in great number, and valuable 
for the profound erudition they contained. Seduced by the 
fantastic charms of the oriental philosophy, he adopted it 
with zeal, but at the same time with certain modifications, 
that rendered his system less extravagant than that of the 

k* 



146 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 

Mareionites, against whom he wrote a very learned treatise. 
The sum of his doctrine is as follows: "there is a Supreme 
God, pure and benevolent, absolutely free from all evil and 
imperfection; and there is also a prince of darkness, the 
fountain of all evil, disorder, and misery. The Supreme 
God created the world without any mixture of evil in its 
composition; he gave existence also to its inhabitants, who 
came out of his forming hand pure and incorrupt, endued 
with subtle, ethereal bodies, and spirits of a celestial nature. 
But when, in process of time, the prince of darkness had 
enticed men to sin, then the Supreme God permitted them 
to fall into sluggish and gross bodies, formed of corrupt mat- 
ter by the evil principle; he permitted also the depravation 
and disorder which this malignant being introduced both into 
the natural and moral world, designing, by this permission, 
to punish the degeneracy and rebellion of an apostate race; 
and hence proceeds the perpetual conflict between reason 
and passion in the mind of man. It was on this account, 
that Jesus descended from the upper regions, clctlied not 
with a real, but with a celestial and aerial body, and taught 
mankind to subdue that body of corruption which tliey car- 
ry about with them in this mortal life: and by abstinence, fast- 
ing, and contemplation, to disengage themselves f om the ser- 
vitude and dominion of that malignant matter, which chained 
down the soul to low and ignoble pursuits. Those, who hear 
the voice of this divine Instructor, and submit themselves to 
his discipline, shall, after the dissolution of this terrestrial 
body, mount up to the mansions of felicity, clothed with 
ethereal vehicles, or celestial bodies." Such was the doctrine 
of Bardesanes, who afterward abandoned the chimerical 
part of his system and returned to a better mind, though hi* 
sect subsisted a long time in Syria. 

Tatian, by birth an Assyrian, and a disciple of Justin 
Martyr, is more distinguished by the ancient writers, on ac- 
count of his genius and learning, and the excessive and in- 
credible austerity of his life and manners, than by any re- 
markable errors or opinions which he taught his followers. 
It appears, however, from the testimony of credible writers, 
that Tatian looked upon matter as the fountain of all evil, 
and therefore recommended, in a particular manner, the 
mortification of the body; that he distinguished the creator 
t>f the world from the Supreme Being; denied the reality of 
Christ's body; and corrupted the christian religion with *>e- 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 147 

veral other tenets of the oriental philosophy. He had a 
great number of followers, who were, after him, called Ta- 
tianists, but were nevertheless more frequently distinguished 
from other sects by the austerity of their manners. For as 
they rejected, with a sort of horror, all the comforts and 
conveniences of life, and abstained from wine with such a 
rigorous obstinacy as to use nothing but water even at the 
celebration of the Lord's supper, as they macerated their bo- 
dies by continual fastings, and lived a severe life of celibacy 
and abstinence, so they were called Eneratites, Hydropara- 
states an I Apotactites. 

Hitherto, we have only considered the doctrine of the 
Asiatic gnostics. Those of the Egyptian branch differ from 
them in general in this, that they blended into one mass the 
oriental philosophy and the Egyptian theology; the former of 
which the Asiatics preserved unmixed in its original simpli- 
city. The Egyptians were moreover particularly distin- 
guished from the Asiatic gnostics, by the following difference 
in their religious system, viz. I . That, though , beside the ex- 
isten ;e of a dvM/ they maintained that also of an eternal mat- 
ter en lued with life and motion, yet they did not acknow- 
ledge a:i eternal principle ofdarkn:ss, or the evil principle, of 
the Persians. 2. They supposed that our blessed Savior was 
a compound of two persons, of the man Jesus, anl of Christ 
the Sou of God; that the divine nature entered into the man 
Jesus, when he was baptized by John in the river Jordan, 
and departed from him when he was seized by the Jews. 3. 
They attributed to Christ a real, not an imaginary body; 
though it mast be confessed, that they were much divided 
in their sentiments on this heal. 4. Their discipline, with 
respect to life and manners, wa3 much less severe than those 
of the Asiatic sect, and seem}, in some points, to have been 
favorable to the corruptions and passions of men. 

B isilides has generally obtained the first place among the 
Egyptian gnostics* "He acknowledged ihe existence of one 
Supreme G>i, perfect in goodness and wisdom, who pro- 
duced from his own substance seven beings, or aions, of a 
most excellent nature. Two of these aions, called Djnimis 
anl ;SV// : 7, i. e>pjw?r&ni wisihni, engendered the angels of 
th 3 hi prist order. These angels formed a heaven for the a 
Itabitation, and brought forth other angelic beings, of a nir- 
ture somewhat inferior to their own. Many other genera- 
tions of angels followed these; new heavens were also crea- 



143 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 

ted, until the number of angelic orders and of their respec- 
tive heavens, amounted to three hundred and sixty-five, and 
thus equaled the days of the year. All these are under the 
empire of an omnipotent Lord, whom Basilides calJed Ahra- 
xasP This word, w 7 hieh w^as certainly in use among the 
Egyptians, before his time, contains numeral letters to the 
amount of c65, and thereby expresses the number of hea- 
vens and angelic orders above enumerated. "The inhabi- 
tants of the lowest heavens, which touched upon the bor- 
ders of the eternal, malignant, and self-animated matter. 
conceived the idea of forming a w T orld, of that confused 
mass, and of creating an order of beings to people it. This 
design w r as carried into execution, and was approved by the 
Supreme God, who, to the animal life, with which only the 
inhabitants of this new w^orld were at first endowed, added 
a reasonable soul, giving, at the same time, to the angels, 
the empire over them." 

"These angelic beings, advanced to the government of the 
world, which ihey had created, fell, by degrees, from their 
original purity, and manifested soon the fatal marks of their 
depravity and corruption. They not cnly endeavored to ef- 
face in the minds of men the knowledge of the Supreme 
Being, that they might be worshiped in his stead, but also 
began to war against one another, with an ambitious view 
to enlarge every cne the bounds of his respective dominion. 
The most arrogant and turbulent of all these angelic spirits 
was that which preside d over the Jewish nation. Hence the 
Supreme God, beholding w ; iih compassion the miserable 
state of rational beings, who groaned under the contests of 
these jarring powers, sent from heaven his Son Nus or Christ 
the chief of the aicns, that, joined in a substantial union 
with the man Jesus, he might restore the knowledge of the 
Supreme God, destroy the empire of those angelic natures 
which presided over the world, and particularly that of the 
arrogant leader cf the Jewish people. The god of the Jews, 
alarmed at this, sent forth his ministers to seize the man Je- 
sus, and put him to death. They executed his commands, 
but their cruelty could not extend to Christ, against whom 
their efforts were vain. Those sen's who obey the precepts 
of the Son of God, shall, after the dissolution of their mor- 
tal frame, ascend to the Father, while their bodies return to 
the corrupt mass of matter from whence they w T ere formed. 
Disobedient spirits, en the contrary, shall pass successively 
*- -o other bodies." 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 149 

The doctrine of Basilides, in point of morals, if we may 
credit the accounts of most ancient writers, was favorable 
to the lusts and passions of mankind, and permitted the prac- 
tice of all sorts of wickedness. But those, whose testimo- 
nies are the most worthy of regard, give a quite different ac- 
count of this teacher, and represent him as recommending 
the practice oi virtue and piety in the strongest manner, 
and as having condemned not only the actual commission 
of iniquity, but even every inward propensity of the mind 
to a vicious conduct. It is true, there were, in his precepts 
relating to the conduct of life, some things which gave great 
offence to all true Christians. For he affirmed it to be law- 
ful for them to conceal their religion, to deny Christ, when 
their lives were in danger, and to partake of the feasts of 
the Gentiles that were instituted in consequence of the sac- 
rifices offered to idols. He endeavored also to diminish the 
glory of those who suffered martyrdom for the cause of 
Christ; impiously maintained, that they were more heinous* 
sinners than others, and that their sufferings were to be look- 
ed upon as a punishment inflicted upon them by the divine 
justice. Though he was led into this enoraious error, by an 
absurd notion that all the calamities of this life were of a 
penal nature, and that men never suffered but in conse- 
quence of their iniquities, yet this rendered his principles 
greatly suspected, and the irregular lives of some of his dis- 
ciples seemed to justify the unfavourable opinion that was 
entertained concerning their master. 

But whatever may be said of Basilides, it is certain, that 
he was far surpassed in impiety by Carpocrates, who was. 
also of Alexandria, and who carried the gnostic blasphemies 
to a more enormous degree of extravagance than they had 
ever been brought by any of that sect. His philosophical 
tenets agree, in general with those of the Egyptian gnostics, 
He acknowledged the existence of a Supreme God, and of 
the aions derived from him by successive generations. He 
maintained the eternity of a corrupt matter, and the creation 
of the world from thence by angelic powers, as also the di- 
vine origin of souls unhappily imprisoned in mortal bodies, 
&C. But, beside these, he propagated other sentiments and 
maxims of a horrid kind. He asserted that Jesus was born 
of Joseph and Mary, according to the ordinary course of na- 
ture, and was distinguished from the rest of mankind by 
nothing but a superior fortitude and greatness of soul. His 



150 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

doctrine also, with respect to practice, was licentious in the 
highest degree, for he not only allowed his disciples a full 
liberty to sin, but recommended to them a vicious course of 
life as a matter both of obligation and necessity; asserting, 
that eternal salvation was only attainable by those who had 
committed all sorts of crimes, and had daringly filled up the 
measure of iniquity. It is almost incredible, that one who 
maintained the existence of a Supreme Being, who acknow- 
ledged Christ as the Savior of mankind, could entertain such 
monstrous opinions as these. One would infer, indeed, from 
certain tenets of Carpocrates that he adopted the common 
doctrine of the gnostics concerning Christ, and acknowledged 
also the laws which this divine Savior imposed upon his dis- 
ciples. But notwithstanding this, it is beyond all doubt, 
that the precepts and opinions of this gnostic are full of im- 
piety; since he held, that lusts and passions, being implant- 
ed in our nature by God himself, were consequently void of 
guilt, and had nothing criminal in them; and that all actions 
were indifferent in their own nature, and were rendered good 
or evil only by the opinions of men, or by the laws of the 
state; that it was the will of God, that all things should be 
possessed in common, the female sex not excepted; but that 
human laws, by an arbitrary tyranny, branded these as rob- 
bers, and adulterers, who only used their natural rights. It is 
easy to perceive, that by these tenets, all the principles of 
virtue were destroyed, and a door opened to the most horrid 
licentiousness, and to the most profligate and enormous 
wickedness. 

Valentine who was likewise an Egyptian by birth, was 
eminently distinguished from all his brethren by the extent 
of his fame, and the multitude of his followers. His sect, 
which took rise at Rome, grew up to a state of consistence 
and vigour, in the Isle of Cyprus, and spread itself through 
Asia, Africa and Europe, with an amazing rapidity. The 
; principles of Valentine were, generally speaking, the same 
with those of the gnostics, whose name he assumed, yet in 
many things he entertained opinions that were particular 
to himself. "He placed, for instance, in the pie roma, so the 
gnostics called the habitation of the deity, thirty alons, of 
which the one half were male, and the other female. To 
these he added four others, which were of neither sex, viz. 
Horus, who guarded the borders of the pleroma, Christ, the 
Holy Ghost and Jesus. The youngest of th<e alans, called 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 151 

Sophia, i. e. wisdom, conceived an ardent desire of compre- 
hending the nature of the Supreme Being, and, by the force 
of this propensity, brought forth a daughter, named Ackamoth. 
Achamo-h, being exiled from the plcroma, fell down into the 
rude and undigested mass of matter, to which she gave a 
certain arrangement; and, by the assistance of Jesus, pro- 
duced the djmiiuge, the lord and creator of all things. This 
demiurge separated the subtile or animal matter from that of 
the grosser, or more terrestrial kind; out of the former he 
created the superior world, or the visible heavens; and out 
of the latter he formed the inferior world, or this terraqueous 
globe. He also made man, in whose composition the sub- 
tile and also the grosser matter were both united, and that 
in equal portions; but Achamqth, the mother of demiurge, ad- 
ded to these two substances, of which the human race was 
formed, a spiritual and celestial substance" This is the sum 
of that intricate and tedious fable, that the extravagant brain 
of Valentine imposed upon the world for a system of reli- 
gious philosophy; and from this it appears, that, though he 
explained the origin of the world and of the human race 
in a more subtle manner than the other gnostics, yet he did 
not differ from them in reality. His imangination was more 
wild and inventive than that of his brethren; and this is 
manifest in the whole" of his doctrine, which is no more than 
gnosticism, set out with some supernumerary fringes, as will 
further appear from what follows. 

i; The creator of this world, according to Valentine, arri- 
ved, by degrees to that pitch of arrogance, that he either im- 
agined himself to be God alone or, at least, was desirous 
that mankind should consider him as such. For this purpose, 
he sent forth prophets to the Jewish nation, to declare his 
claim to the henourthat is due to the Supreme Being, and in 
this also the other angels that preside over the different parts 
of the universe immediately set themselves to imitate his 
ambition. To chastise this lawless arrogance of demiurge, 
and to illuminate the mind-; of rational beings with the 
knowledge of the true and Supreme deity, Christ appeared 
upon earth composed of an animal and spiritual substance, 
and clothed, moreover with an aerial body. This Redeem- 
er, in descending upon earth, passed through the womb of 
Mary, as the pure water flows through the untainted con- 
duit. Jesus, one of the supreme aions, was substantially uni- 
ted to him, when he was baptised by John in the waters of 



152 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 

Jordan. The creator of this world, when he perceived that 
the foundations of his empire were shaken by this divine 
man, caused him to b,e apprehended and nailed to the cross* 
But before Christ submitted to this punishment, not only Je- 
sus the Son of God, but also the rational soul of Christ, as- 
cended upon high, so that only the animal soul and the ethe- 
rial body suffered crucifixion. Those who, abandoning the 
service of false deities, and the worship of the god of the 
Jews, live according to the precepts of Christ, and submit 
the animal and sensual soul to the discipline of reason, shall 
be truly happy; their rational and also their sensual souls 
shall ascend to those glorious seats of bliss which border on 
the pleroma; and when all the parts of the divine nature, or 
all souls are purified thoroughly and separated from matter, 
then a raging fire, let loose from its prison, shall spread its 
flames throughout the universe, and dissolve the frame of 
this corporeal world." Such is the doctrine of Valentine 
and the gnostics; such also are the tenets of the oriental 
philosophy, and they may be summed in the following propo- 
sitions; this world is a compound of good and evil. Whatever 
is good in it, comes down from the Supreme God the Father of 
lights, and to him it shall return; and then the world shall be en- 
tirely destroyed. 

We learn from ancient writers, that the sect of the Valen- 
tinians was divided into many branches. One of these was 
the sect of Ptolemaites, so called from their chief Ptolemy, 
who differed in opinion from his master Valentine, with re- 
spect both to the number and nature of the a ions. Another 
of these was the sect of Secundians, whose chief Secundus, 
one of the principal followers of Valentine, maintained the 
doctrine of two eternal principles, viz. light and darkness, 
from whence arose the good and the evil that are observa- 
ble in the universe. From the same source arose the sect 
of Heracleon, from whose writings Clemens and Origen 
have made many extracts; as also that of the Marcosians, 
whose leaders Marc, and Colobarsus added many absurd fic- 
tions to those of Valentine; though it is certain, at the same 
time, that many errors were attributed to them, which they 
did not maintain. I omit the mention of some other sects, 
which the Valentinian heresy is said to have given rise. — 
Whether, in reality, they all sprung from this source, is a 
question of a very doubtful kind, especially if we consider 
the errors into which the ancients have fallen, in tracing out 



Divisions and heresies. 153 

the origin of the various sects that divided the church. — 
It is not necessary to take particular notice of the more 
obscure and less considerable of the gnostic sects, of which 
the ancient writers scarcely mention any thing but the name 
and one or two of their distinguishing tenets. Such were 
the Adamites, who are said to have professed an exact imi- 
tation of the primitive state of innocence; the Cainites, who 
treated as saints, with the utmost marks of admiration and 
respect, Cain, Korah, Dath&n, the inhabitants of Sodom and 
even the traitor Judas. Such also were the Abelites, who 
entered into the bonds of matrimony, but neglected to fulfil 
its principal end, even the procreation of offspring; the Seth- 
ites, who honored Seth in a particular manner, and looked 
upon him as the same person with Christ; the Florinians, 
who had Florinus and Blastus for their chiefs, and several 
others, it is highly probable, that the ancient teachers, de- 
ceived by the variety of names that distinguished the here- 
tics, may with too much precipitation have divided one sect 
into many; nay, it may be farther questioned, whether they 
have, at all times, represented accurately the nature ami 
true meaning of several opinions concerning which they 
have written. 

The Ophites, or Serpeatinians. a ridiculous sort of here- 
tics, who had for their leader a man called Euphrates, de- 
serve not the lowest place among the Egyptian gnostics. — 
This sect, which had its origin among the Jews, was of a 
more ancient date than the christian religion. A part of 
its followers embraced the gospel, while the other retained 
their primitive superstition, and from hence arose the divis- 
ion of the Ophites into christian and antichristian. The 
christian Ophites entertained almost the same fantastic opi- 
nions that were held by the other Egyptian gnostics, con- 
cerning the aioiis, the eternal matter, the creation of the world 
in opposition to the will of God, the rulers af ike seven planets 
that presided over this world, the tytunny of demiurge, and 
also concerning Christ united to the man Jesus, in order to 
destroy the empire of this usurper. But beside these, they 
received the name ol Ophites, viz. "that the serpent, by 
which our first parents were deceived, was either Christ 
himself, or Sophia, concealed under the form of that ani- 
mal;" and in consequence of this opinion, they are said to 
have nourished a certain number of serpents, which they 
looked upon as sacred, and to which they offered a sort of 



ft 

154 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

worship, a subordinate kind of divine honors. It was no 
difficult matter for those, who made a distinction between 
the Supreme Being and the creator of the world, and who 
looked upon everything as divine, which was in opposition 
to demiurge, to fall into these extravagant notions. 

The schisms and commotions that arose in the church, 
from a mixture of the oriental and Egyptian philosophy 
with the christian religion, were in the second century, in- 
creased by those Grecian philosophers who embraced the 
doctrine of Christ The christian doctrine, concerning the 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the two natures united in 
our blesssed Savior, were, by no means, reconcile able with 
the tenets of the sages and teachers of Greece,, who there- 
fore eudeavoi ed to explain them in such a manner as to ren- 
der them comprehensible. Praxeas, a man of genius and 
learning began to propagate these explications at Rome, 
and was severely persecuted for the errors they contained. 
He denied any real distinction between the Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, and maintained that the Father, sole creator of 
all things, had united to himself the human nature of Lhrist. 
Hence his followers were called Monarchians, because of 
their denying a plurality of persons in the Deity; and also 
JPatropassians, because, according to Tertullian's account, 
they believed that the Father was so intimately united with 
the man Christ, his Son, that he suffered with him the an- 
guish of an afflicted life, and the torments of an ignomini- 
ous death. However ready many may have been to em- 
brace this erroneous doctrine, it does not appear that this 
sect formed themselves a separate place of worship, or re- 
moved themselves from the ordinary assemblies of Christ ans. 

An opinion highly resembling that now mentioned was, 
about the same time, professed at Rome by Theodotus, who, 
though a tanner, was a man of profound learning, and also 
Arte mas, or Artemon, from whom the sect of the Artemon- 
ites derive their origin. The accounts given of these two 
persons, by the ancient writers, -are not only few in number, 
but are also extremely ambiguous and obscure. Their sen- 
timents however, as far as they can be collected from the 
best records, amount to this: "that, at the birth of the man 
Christ, a certain divine cncrp:y, or portion of the divine na- 
ture, and not the person ot the Father, as Praxeas imagined, 
united itself to him." 

it is impossible to decide with any degree of certainty 



DIVISIONS' AND HERESIES. 155 

which of the two was the most ancient, Theodotus, or Arte- 
mon, as also whether they both taught the same doctrine, or 
differed in their opinions. One thing, indeed, is certain, and 
that is, that the disciples of both applied the dictates of phi- 
losophy, and even the science of geometry, to the explica- 
tion of the christian doctrine. 

A like attachment to the dictates of a presumptuous phi- 
losophy, induced Hermogenes, a painter by profession, to 
abandon the doctrine of Christianity, concerning the origin 
of the world and the nature of the soul, and thus to raise 
new troubles in the church. Regarding matter as the foun- 
tain of all evil, he could not persuade himself that God had 
created it from nothing, by an almighty act of his will; and 
therefore he maintained that the world, with whatever it 
contains, as also the souls of men, and other spirits, were 
formed by the Deity from an uncreated and eternal mass of 
corrupt matter. In this doctrine there many intricate things, 
and it manifestly jarred with the opinions commonly received 
among Christians, relative to that difficult and almost un- 
searchable subject. How Hermogenes explained those doc- 
trines of Christianity which opposed his system, neither Ter- 
tuliian. who refuted it, nor any of the ancient writers in- 
form us. 

These sects, which we have now been passing in review, 
may be justly regarded as the offspring of philosophy. Bur. 
they were succeeded by one in which ignorance reigned, ana 
which was the mortal enemy of philosophy and letters, h 
was formed by Montanus, an obscure man, without any ca- 
pacity, who lived in a Phrygian village called Pepuza. This 
weak man was foolish and extravagant enough to take it in- 
to his head that he was the parachtr, or comforter, which the 
divine Savior, at his departure from the earth, promised to 
send to his disciples, to lead them to all truth. He made no 
attempts upon the peculiar doctrines of Christianity; but on- 
ly declared that he was sent with a divine commission, to 
tfive to the moral precepts delivered by Christ and his apos- 
tles the finishing touch that was to brin^ them to perfection. 

He was of opinion that Christ and his apostles made, in 
their precepts, many allowances for the infirmities of those 
among whom they lived, and that this condescending indul- 
gence rendered their system of moral laws imperfect and in- 
€omplete. He therefore added to the laws of the gospel ma- 
ny austere decisions; inculcated the necessity of multiplying 



IVi INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

lasts; prohibited second marriages as unlawful; maintained 
that the church should refuse absolution to to those who had 
fallen into the commission of enormous sins; and condemned 
all care of the body, especially all nicety in dress; and all 
female ornaments. The excessive austerity, of this ignorant 
fanatic did not stop here; he showed the same aversion to 
the noblest Employments of the mind, that he did to the in- 
nocent enjoyments of life; and gave it as his opinion, that 
philosophy, arts, and whatever savored of polite literature, 
should be mercilessly banished from the christian church. He 
looked upon those christians as guilty of a most heinous 
transgression who saved their lives by flight, from the perse- 
cuting sword, or who ransomed them by money, from the 
hands of their cruel and mercenary judges. I might men- 
tion many other precepts of the same teacher, equal to these 
in severity and rigor. 

It was impossible to suffer, within the bounds of the 
rluirch, an enthusiast, who gave himself out for a teacher, 
whose tenets were superior in sanctity to those of Christ 
himself, and who imposed his austere discipline upon Chris- 
tians as enjoined by a divine authority, and dictated by the 
oracle of celestial wisdom, which spoke to the world through 
him. Beside, his dismal predictions concerning the disasters 
that were to happen in the empire, and the approaching de- 
struction of the Roman republic, were every way proper to 
render him obnoxious to the governing powers, and also to 
excite their resentment against the church which nourished 
such an inauspicious prophet in its bosom. Montanus, there- 
fore, first by a decree of certain assemblies, and afterward 
by the unanimous voice of the whole church, w r as solemnly 
separated from the body of the faithful. It is, however, cer- 
tain, that the very severity of his doctrines gained him the 
esteem and confidence of many, who were far from being 
of the lowest order. The most eminent among these were 
IViscilla and Maximilla, and ladies more remarkable for 
their opulence than for their virtue, and who fell with a high 
degree of warmth and zeal into the visions of their fanati- 
cal chief, prophesied like him, and imitated the pretended 
paraclete in all the variety of his extravagance and folly, 
ilence it became an easy matter for Montanus to erect a 
new church, which was also, in effect, first established at 
Pepuza, a town in Phrygia, and afterward spread abroad 
through Asia, Africa, and apart of Europe. The mostemi- 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 157 

aent and learned of all the followers of this rigid enthusiast 
was Tertullian, a man of great learning and genius, but of 
an austere and melancholy natural temper. This great man 
by adopting the sentiments of Montanus, and maintaining 
his cause with fortitude, and even vehemence, in a multi- 
tude of books written upon that occasion, has shown to the 
world a mortifying spectacle of the deviations of which hu- 
man nature is capable, even in those in whom it seems to 
have approached the nearest to perfection. 



THE THIRD CENTURY.* 



PART I. 

EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

CHAPTER I. 

WHICH CONTAINS THE PROSPEROUS EVENTS THAT HAPPENED TO THB 
CHURCH 1URING THIS CENTURY. 

The privileges of the Christians increased — kindness of the emperor A T ©xan- 
der towards the Christians — other emperors favorable — number of Christiana 
increased — the causes — countries that received the gospel — Gauls and Ger- 
mans. 

That the Christians suffered in this century calamities and 
injuries of the most dreadful kind, is a matter that admits of 
no debate; nor was there, indeed, any period in which they 
were not exposed to perpetual dangers. For, not to men- 
tion the fury of the people, set in motion so often by the 
craft and zeal oi their licentious priests, the evil came from 
a higher source; the praetors and magistrates, notwithstand- 
ing the ancient laws of the emperors, in favor of the Chris- 
tians, had it in their power to pursue them with all sorts of 
vexations, as often as avarice, cruelty, or superstition roused 
up the infernal spirit of persecution in their breasts. At the 
same time it is certain that the rights and privileges of the 
Christians were multiplied in this century, much more than 
many are apt to imagine. In the army, at court, and indeed 
in all the orders of the nation, there was- a considerable num- 
ber of Christians who lived entirely unmolested; and, what 
is still mere, the profession of Christianity was no obstacle to 
public preferment under most of the emperors that reigned 
in this century. It is also certain, that the Christians had, 
in many places, houses where they assembled for the pur- 
lin my } r 03 >f ctus two hundred pages were promised. My first calculation 
falling Ehort of the proposed number, another century is appended, to mak« 
■p the enrnimeut. — S. K. H. 



160 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

poses of divine worship, and that with the knowledge and 
connivance of the emperors and magistrates. And though 
it be more than probable that this liberty was, upon many 
occasions, and even for the most part, purchased at a high 
rate, yet it is manifest, that some of the emperors were very 
favorably inclined toward the Christians, and were far from 
having an aversion to their religion. 

Caracalia, the sen of Severus, was proclaimed emperor ? 
in the year 211, and during the sixyears of his government 
he neither oppressed the Christians himself nor permitted 
any others to treat them with cruelty or injustice. Helioga- 
buius also, though in other respects the most infamous of all 
princes, and perhaps the most odious of all mortals, showed 
no marks of bitterness or aversion toward the disciples of 
Jesus His successor, Alexander Severus, who was a prince 
distinguished by a noble assemblage of the most excellent, 
and illustrious virtues, did not, indeed, abrogate the laws thai 
had been enacted against the Christians; and this is the rea- 
son why we have some examples of martyrdom under his 
administration. It is nevertheless certain, that he showed 
them, in many ways, and upon every occasion that was of- 
fered him, the most undoubted marks of benignity of favor: 
nay he is said to have gone so far as to pay a certain sort of 
worship to the Divine Author of our religion. This his favo- 
rable inclination toward the Christians, was probably owing 
at first to the instructions and counsels of his mother Julia 
Mammsea, for whom he had a high degree of love and ve- 
neration. Julia had a very favorable sentiment of the Chris- 
tian religion; and, being once at Antioch, sent for the fa- 
mous Origen at Alexandria, in order to enjoy the pleasure 
and advantage of his conversation and instructions. Those 
who assert that Julia, and her son Alexander, embraced the 
christian religion, are by no means furnished with unexcep- 
tionable testimonies to confirm this fact; though we may af- 
firm with confidence, that this virtuous prince looked upon 
Christianity as meriting, beyond all other religions, tolera- 
tion and favor from the state, and considered its Author as 
w r orthy of a place among those who have been distinguished 
by their sublime virtues, and honored with a commission 
from above. 

Under Gordian the Christians lived in tranquillity. His 
successors the Philips, father and son, proved so favorable 
and even friendly to them, that these two emperors passed, 



PROSPEROUS EVENTS. 161 

in the opinion of many, for Christians; and, indeed the ar- 
guments alleged to prove that they embraced, though in a 
secret and clandestine manner, the religion of Jesus, seem 
to have a high degree of weight, and render this fact ex- 
tremely probable. But as these arguments are opposed by 
others equally specious, that famous question, relating to the 
religion of Philip the Arabian, and his son, must be left un- 
decided. Neither side offer reasons so victorious and unan- 
swerable, as to produce a full and complete conviction; and 
this is therefore one of those many cases, where a suspen- 
sion of judgment is both allowable and wise. With respect 
to Gallienus, and some other emperors of this century, if 
they did not professedly favor the progress of Christianity, 
yet neither did they oppress its followers, nor retard its ad- 
vancement. 

This clemency and benevolence, which the followers ot 
Jesus experienced from great men, and especially, from those 
of imperial dignity, must be placed, without doubt, among 
those human means that contributed to multiply the num- 
ber of Christians, and to enlarge the bounds of the church. 
Other causes, however, both divine and human, must be ad- 
ded here, to render a complete and satisfactory account of 
this matter. Among the causes which belong to the first of 
these classes, we do not only reckon the intrinsic force of ce- 
lestial truth, and the piety and fortitude of those who de- 
clared it to the world, but also that especial and interposing 
Provi fence, which by dreams and visions, presented to the 
minds of many, who were either inattentive to the christian 
doctrine, or its professed enemies, touched their hearts with 
a conviction of the truth and a sense of its importance, and 
engaged them, without delay, to profess themselves the dis- 
ciples of Christ. To this may also be added, the healing of 
dise ases, and other miracles, which many Chiistians were 
yet enabled to perform by invoking the name of the divine 
Savior. The number of miracles was however, much less in 
this than the preceding century; nor must this alteration be 
attributed only to the divine wisdom, which rendered mirac- 
ulous interposition less frequent in proportion as they be- 
came less necessary; but also to his justice, which was pro- 
voked to diminish the frequency of gilts, which some did not 
scruple to pevertto mercenary purposes. 

If we turn our view to the human means that contributed, 
at this time, to multiply the numbers of Christians, and to 

1* 



16*2 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

extend the limits of the church, we shall find a great variety 
of causes uniting their influence, and contributing jointly 
to this happy purpose. Among these must be reckoned the 
translations of the sacred writings into various languages, 
the zeal and labors of Origen in spreading abroad copies of 
them everywhere, and the different works that were pub- 
lished, by learned, and pious men, in defence of the gospel. 
We may add also to this, that the acts of beneficence and 
liberality, performed by the Christians, even toward those 
whose religious principles they abhorred, had a great influ- 
ence in attracting the esteem, and removing the prejudices 
of many, who were thus prepared for examining with can- 
dor, the christian doctrine, and consequently for receiving 
its divine light. The worshippers of the pagan deities must 
have been destitute of every generous affection, of every 
humane feeling, if the view of that boundless charity, which 
the Christains exercised toward the poor, the love they ex- 
pressed even to their enemies, the tender care they took of 
the sick and infirm, the humanity they discovered in the re- 
demption of captives, and the other illustrious virtues, which 
rendered them so Worthy of universal esteem, had not touch- 
ed there hearts, dispelled their prepossessions, and rendered 
them^more favourable to the disciples of Jesus. If, among the 
causes of the propagation of Christianity, there is any place 
due to pious frauds , it is certain, that they merit a very small 
part of the honor of having contributed to this glorious pur- 
pose, since they were practised by few, and that very seldom . 
That the limits of the church were extended in this cen- 
tury, is a matter beyond all controversy. It is not, however, 
equally certain in what manner, by what persons, or in what 
parts of the world, this was effected. Origen, invited from 
Alexandria by an Arabian prince, converted, by his assidu- 
ous labors, a certain tribe of wandering Arabs to the Chris- 
tian faith. The Goths, a fierce and warlike people, who 
inhabited the countries of Mysia and Thrace, and who ac- ( 
customed to rapine, vexed the neighboring provinces by 
perpetual incursions, received the knowledge of the gospel 
by the means of certain christain teachers sent thither from 
Asia. The holy lives of these venerable teachers, and the 
miraculous powers with which they were endowed, attract- 
ed the esteem, even of a people educated to nothing but plun- 
der and devastation, and absolutely uncivilized by letters or 
science; and their authority and influence grew so great, and 



CALAMITOUS EVENTS. 163 

produced, in process of time, such remarkabta effects, that a 
great part of this barberous people became the disciples of 
Christ, and put off, in a manner, that ferocity that was be- 
come so natural to them. 

The christian assemblies, founded in Gaul by the Asiatic 
teachers in the preceding contury, were few in number, and 
of very little extent: but both their number and extent were 
considerably increased from the time of the emperor Decius. 
Under his reign Dionysius, Gatian, Trophymus, Paul, Satur- 
ninus, Martial, Stremonius, men of exemplary piety, passed 
into this province, and amidst dangers and trials of various 
kinds, erected churches at Paris, Tours, Aries, and several 
other places. This was followed by a rapid progress of the 
gospel among the Gauls, as the disciples of these pious teach- 
ers spread, in a short time, the knowledge of Christianity 
through the whole country. We must also place in this cen- 
\ tury the origin of several German churches, such as those of 
Cologn; Treves, Metz, and others, of which Eucharius, Va- 
lerius, Maternus, and Clemens, were the principal founders 
The historians of vScotland inform us, that the light of Chris- 
tianity arose upon that country 'during this century; but 
though there be nothing improbable in this assertion, yet it 
is not built upon incontestible authority. 



CHAPTER II. 

CONCERNING THE CALAMITOUS EVENTS WHICH HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH 
IN THIS CENTURY. 

Persecutions — many Christians chargeable with defection — produces warm 
- ons — persecutions continue — attempts of philosophers against Chris- 
tianity— comparisons drawn between philosophers and Christ-- state of learn- 
- among the Christians. 

In the beginning of this century, the christian church suffer- 
ed calamities of various kinds throughout the provinces in the 
Roman empire. These sufferings incrased in a terrible man- 
ner, in consequence of a law made, id the year 203, by the 
emperor Severus, who, in other respects, was certainly no en- 
emy to the Christians, by which every subject of the empire 
was prohibited to change the religion of his ancestors for 
that of Christian or Jewish. This law was, in its effects, 



164 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

most prejudicial to the Christians; for, though it did not 
formally condemn them, and seemed only adapted to put a 
stop to the further progress of the gospel, yet it induced ra- 
pacious and unjust magistrates to persecute even unto death 
the poorer sort among the Christians, that thus the richer 
"might be led, through fear of like treatment, to purchase 
their tranquillity and safety at an expensive rate. Hence 
many of the disciples of Christ, both in Egypt, and also in 
several parts of Asia and Africa, were put to death in con- 
sequence of this law. Among these Leonidas, the father of 
Origen, Perpetua and Felicitas, those two famous African 
ladies, whose acts have come down to our times, Potamiena 
jVlarcella, and other martyrs of both sexes, acquired an illus- 
trious name by the magnanimity and tranquillity with which 
they endured the most cruel sufferings. 

From the death of Severus to the reign of Maximin, the 
condition of the Christians w T as, in some places, prosperous,, 
and in all, supportable. But with Maximin the face of af- 
fairs changed. This unworthy emperor having animated the 
.Roman soldiers to assassinate Alexander Severus dreaded the 
resentment of the Christians, whom that excellent prince 
had favored and protected in a distinguished manner; and 
for this reason, he ordered the bishops, whom he knew that 
Alexander had always treated as his intimate friends, to be 
seized and put to death. During his reign, the Christians 
suffered in the most barbarous manner; for, though the 
edict of this tyrant extended only to the bishops and leaders 
of the christian church, yet its shocking effects reached much 
further; as it animated the heathen priests, the magistrates 
and the multitude, against Christians of every rank and or- 
der. 

This storm was succeeded by a calm; in which the Chris- 
tians enjoyed a happy tranquillity for many years. The 
accession of Decius Trajan to the imperial throne, in the 
year 249, raised a tempest, in which the fury of persecution 
fell in a dreadful manner upon the church of Christ. For 
this emperor, either from an ill- grounded fear of the Chris- 
tians, or from a violent zeal for the superstition of his ances- 
tors, published most terrible and cruel edicts; by which the 
pretors were ordered, upon pain of death, either to extir- 
pate the whole body of Christians without exception, or to 
force them, by torments of various kinds, to return to pagan 
worship. Hence, in all the provinces of the empire, multi- 



CALAMITOUS EVENTS. 165 

tudes of Christians were, during the space of two years, put 
to death by the most horrid punishments, which an ingeni- 
ous barbarity could invent. The most unhappy circum- 
stance of all these cruelties was, their fatal influence upon 
the faith and constancy of many of the sufferers; for as this 
persecution was much more terrible than all those that pre- 
ceded it, so a great number of Christians, dismayed, not at 
the approach of death, but at the aspect of those dreadful 
and lingering torments, which a barbarous magistracy had 
prepared to combat their constancy, fell from the profession 
of their faith, and secured themselves from punishment, ei- 
ther by offering sacrifices, or by burning incense, before the 
images of the gods, or by purchasing certificates from the pa- 
gan priests. Hence arose the opprobrious names of Sacri- 
ficati, given to those who sacrificed; Thurificati, to those who 

-ned incense; and Libellatici, to those who produced cerliji- 

t s . 

This defection of such a prodigious number of christians 
under Decius was the occasion of great commotions in the 
church, and produced debates of a very difficult nature. For 
the lapsed, or those that had fallen from their christian profes- 
sion, were desirous to be restored to church communion with- 
out submitting to that painful course of penitential discipline, 
which the ecclesiastical laws indispensably required. The 
bishops were divided upon this matter; some were for show- 
ing the desired indulgence, while others opposed it with all 
their might. In Egypt and Africa, many, in order to obtain 
more speedily the pardon of their apostacy, interested the 
martyrs in their behalf, and received from them letters of re- 
conciliation crnd peac% i. e. a, fovm&l act by which they, the 
martyrs, declared, in their last moments, that they looked 
upon them as worthy of their communion, and desired of con- 
sequence that they should be restored to their place among 
the brethren. Some bishops and presbyters readmitted into 
the church with too much facility, apostates and transgres- 
sors, who produced such testimonies as these. But Cyprian, 
bishop of Carthge, a man of severe wisdom and great dignity 
of character, acted in ,uite another way. Though he had no 
intention to derogate from the authority of the venerable 
martyrs, yet he opposed with vigor this unreasonable len- 
ity, and set limits to the efficacy of these letters of reconcil- 
iation and peace. Hence arose a keen dispute between him 
and the martyrs, confessors, presbyters, and lapsed, seconded 



166 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 

by the people: and yet, notwithstanding this formidable mul- 
titude of adversaries, the venerable bishop came off* victori- 
ous. 

Callus, the successor of Deems, and Volusianus, son of 
the former, reanimated the flame of persecution, which was 
beginning to burn with less fury. And, beside the sufferings 
which the Christians had to undergo in ccsequence of their 
cruel edicts, they were also involved in the public calamities 
that prevailed at this time, and suffered grievously from a 
terrible pestilence which spread desolation through many pro- 
vinces of the empire. This pestilence also was an occa- 
sion which the pagan priests used with dexterity to renew 
the rage of persecution against them, by persuading the peo- 
ple that it was on account of the lenity used towards the 
Christians, that the gods sent down their judgment upon the 
nation. In the year 254, Valerian being declared emperor, 
made the fury of persecution cease, and restored the church 
to a state of tranquillity. 

The clemency and benevolence which Valerian showed to 
the Christians, continued until the fifth year of his reign. — 
Then the scene began to change, and the change indeed 
was sudden. Macrianus, a superstitious and cruel bigot to 
paganism, had gained an ascendant over Valerian, and 
was his chief counsellor in every thing that related to the ad- 
ministration of the government. By the persuasion of this 
imperious minister, the Christians were prohibited to assem- 
ble themselves together, and their bishops and teachers were 
sent into banishment. This edict was published in the year 
257, and was followed, the year after, by one still more severe; 
in consequence of which a considerable number of Chris- 
tians, in all the dfferentprovinces of the empire, were put to 
death, and that by such cruel methods of execution, as were 
much more terrible than death itself. Of those that suffered 
in this persecution, the most eminent were Cyprian, bishop 
of Charthage; Sixtus, bishop of Rome; and Laurentius, a 
Roman deacon, who was barbarously consumed by a slow 
and lingering fire. An unexpected event suspended, for a 
while, the sufferings of the Christians. Valerian was made 
prisoner in the war against the Persians; and his son Gallien- 
us, in the year 260, restored peace to the church. 

The condition of the Christians was rather supportable than 
happy, under the reign of Gallienus, which lasted eight years; 
as also under the short administration of his successors Clau- 



CALAMITOUS EVENTS. 167 

dius. Nor did they suffer much daring the first four years 
of the reign of Aurelian, who was raised to the empire in 
the year 270. But the fifth year of this emperor's adminis- 
tration would have proved fatal to them, had not his violent 
death prevented the execution of his cruel purposes. For 
while, set on by the unjust suggestions of his own superstition 
or by the barbarous counsels of a bigoted priesthood, he was 
preparing a formidable attack upon the Christians, he was 
obliged to march into Gaul, where he was murdered, in the 
year 275, before his edicts were published throughout the 
empire. Few therefore suffered martyrdom under his reign , 
and indeed, during the remainder of this century, the Chris- 
tians enjoyed a considerable measure of ease and tranquilli- 
ty. They were, at least, free from any violent attacks ot 
oppression and injustice, except in a small number of cases, 
where the avarice and superstition of the Roman magistrates 
interrupted their tranquillity. 

While the Roman emperors and proconsuls employed 
against the Christians the terror of unrighteous edicts, and 
the edge of the destroying sword, the platonic philosophers, 
who have been described above, exhausted against Chris- 
tianity all the resources of their art and dexterity, in rheto- 
rical declamaiions, subtile writings, and ingenious strata- 
gems. These artful adversaries were so much the more 
dangerous and formidable, as they had adopted several of 
the doctrines and institutions of the gospel, and with a spe- 
cious air of moderation and impartiality, were attempting, 
after the example of their master Ammonius, to reconc 
paganism with Christianity, and to form a sort of coalition 
of the ancient and the new religion. These philosophers 
had at their head, in this century, Porphyry, a Syrian, or, as 
some allege, a Tyriamby birth, who wrote against the Chris- 
tians along and laborious work, which was destroyed after- 
ward by an imperial edict. He was, undoubtedly, a writer 
areat dexterity, genius and erudition, as those of his 
works that yet remain sufficiently testify. But those very 
works, and the history of his life, show us, at the same time, 
that he was a much more virulent, than a formidable enc 
to the Christians. For by them it appears, that he was much 
more attentive to the suggestions of a superstitious spirit 
and the visions of a lively fancy, than to the sober dfcti 
of right reason and a sound judgment. .And it may be 
more especially observed of the fragments that yet rem 



168 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

of his work against the Christians, that they are equally de- 
stitute of judgment and equity, and are Utterly unworthy of 
a wise and a good man. 

Many were the deceitful and perfidious stratagems by 
which this sect endeavored to obscure the lustre, and to di- 
minish the authority of the christian doctrine. But none 
of these w T ere more dangerous than the seducing artifice 
with which they formed a comparison between the life, ac- 
tions and miracles of Christ, and the history of the ancient 
philosophers; and placed the contending parties in such fal- 
lacious points of view, as to make the pretended sages of 
antiquity appear in nothing inferior to the divine Savior. 
With this view, Architas of Tarentum, Appollonius Tyanag- 
us, a Pythagorean philosopher, whose miracles and perigri- 
nations were highly celebrated by the vulgar, were brought 
upon the scene, and exhibited as divine teachers and rivals 
of the glory of the Son of God. Philostratus, one of the 
most eminent rhetoricians of this age, composed a history of 
the life of Appollonius, who was little else than a cunning 
knave, and did nothing but ape the austerity and sanctity of 
Pythagoras. This history appears manifestly designed to 
draw a parallel between Christ and the philosopher of Ty- 
ana; but the impudent fictions, and the ridiculous fables, 
with which this work is filled, must, one would think, have 
rendered it incapable of deceiving any who were possessed 
of a sound mind; any, but such as, through the corruption of 
vicious prejudices were willing to be deceived. 

But as there are no opinions, however absurd, and no sto- 
ries, however idle and improbable, that a weak and ignor- 
ant multitude, who are more attentive to the pomp of worth, 
than to the truth of things, will not easily swallow; so it 
happened, that many were ensnared by the absurd at- 
tempts of these insidious philosophers. Some were induced 
by these perfidious stratagems to abandon the christian re- 
ligion, which they had embraced. Others, when they heard 
that true Christianity, as it was taught by Jesns, and not as 
it was afterwards corrupted by his disciples, differed almost 
in nothing from the pagan religion properly explained and 
restored to its primitive purity, determined to remain in the 
religion of their ancestors, and in the worship of their gods. 
A third sort were led, by these comparisons between Christ 
and the ancient philosophers, to form to themselves a mot- 
ley system of religion composed of the tenets of both par- 



CALAMITOUS EVENTS. 169 

ties, whom they treated with the same veneration and re- 
spect. Such was, particularly the method of Alexander Se- 
verus, who paid indiscriminately divine honors to Christ, 
and to Orpheus, to Apollonius, and the other philosophers 
and the heroes whose names were famous in ancient times. 
The credit and power of the Jews were now too much di- 
minished to render them as capable of injuring the Chris- 
tians, by their influence upon the magistrates, as they had 
formerly been. This did not, however, discourage their ma- 
licious efforts, as the books which Tertullian and Cyprian 
have written against them abundantly show, with several 
other writings of the christian teachers, who complained of 
the malignity of the Jews, and of their perfidious stratagems. 
During the persecution under Severus, a certain person call- 
ed Domninus, who had embraced Christianity, deserted to 
the Jews, doubtless, to avoid the punishments that were de- 
creed against the Christians; and it was to recall this apos- 
tate to his duty and his profession, that Serapion, bishop of 
Antioch, wrote a particular treatise against the Jews. We 
may, however, conclude from this instance, that when the 
Christians were persecuted, the Jews were treated with less 
severity and contempt, on account of their enmity against 
the disciples of Jesus; And from the same fact we may al- 
so learn, that, though they were in a state of great subjec- 
tion and abasement, yet they were not entirely deprived of 
all power of oppressing the Christians. 



PART II. 

INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 



CHAPTER I. 

CONCERNING THE STATE OF LETTERS AND PHILOSOPHY DURING THIS 

CENTURY. 

Decay of learning — state of philosophy — Ploiinns,— -his doctrine widely propa- 
gated — different sects of this philosophy — state of learning amono- the Chris- 
tians. 

The arts and sciences, which in the preceding century, 
were in a declining state, seemed in this ready to expire, 
and had now lost all their vigour, and all their lustre. — 
The celebrated/betorician Longinus, and the eminenthisro- 
rian Dion Cassius*; with a few others, were the last among 
the Greeks,, who stood in the breach against the pre- 
vailing ignorance and barbarianism of the times. Men 
of learning and genius were less numerous still in the wes- 
tern provinces of the empire, though there were, in several 
places, flourishing schools erected for the advancement of 
the sciences, and the culture of taste and genius. Different 
reasons contributed to this decay of learning. Few r of the 
emperors patronized the sciences, or encouraged, by the pros- 
pect of their favor and protection, that emulation, which is 
the soul of the republic of letters. Beside, the civil wars 
that almost always distracted the empire, were extremely 
unfavorable to the 'pursuit of science, and the perpetual in- 
cursions of the barbarous nations interrupted that leisure and 
tranquil ity which are so essential to the progress of learning 
and knowledge, and extinguished, among a people accus- 
tomed to nothing almost but the din of arms, all desire of lit- 
erary acquisitions. 

If we turn our eyes toward the state of philosophy, the 
prospect wall appear somewhat less desolate and comfortless. 
There were, as yet, in several of the Grecian sects, men of 
considerable knowledge and reputation, of whom Longinus 



LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY. 1T1 

has mentioned the greatest part. But all these sects were 
gradually eclipsed by the school of Ammonius, whose ori- 
gin and doctrines have been considered above. This victo- 
rious sect, which was formed in Egypt, issued forth from 
thence with such a rapid progress, that in a short time, it 
extended itself almost throughout the Roman empire, and 
drew into its vortex, the greatest part of those who applied 
themselves, through inclination, to the study of philosophy. 
This amazing progress was due to Plotinus, the most emi- 
nent disciple of Ammonius, a man of a most subtile inven- 
tion, and endowed by nature with a genius capable of the 
most profound researches, and equal to this investigation 
of the most abtruse and difficult subjects. This penetrating 
and sublime philosopher taught publicly first in Persia, and 
afterward at Rome, and in Campania; in all which places 
the youth flocked in crowds to receive his instruction. He 
comprehended the precepts of his philosophy, in several 
books the most of which are yet extant. 

The number of disciples that were formed in the school of 
Plotinus, is almost beyond credibility. The most famous of 
them was Porphyry, who spread abroad through Sicily and 
many other countries, the doctrine of his master, revised 
with great accuracy,, adorned with the graces of a flowing 
and elegant style, and enriched with new inventions and 
curious improvements. From the time of Ammonius, until 
the sixth century, this was almost the only system of philos- 
ophy that was publicly taught at Alexandria. A certain 
philosopher, whose name Avas Plutarch, having learned it 
there, brought it into Greece, and renewed, at Athens, the 
celebrated academy, from whence issued a set of illustrious 
philosophers; whom we shall have occasion to mention in 
the progress of this work. 

We have unfolded above the nature and doctrines of 
philosophy, as far as was compatible with the brevity of our 
present design. It is, however, proper to add here, that its 
votaries were not all of the same sentiments, but thought 
very differently upon a variety of subjects. This difference 
of opinion was the natural consequence of that fundamen- 
tal law; which the whole sect was obliged to keep constant- 
ly in view, viz. that truth was to be pursued with tie: utmost liber- 
ty, and- to be collected from all the different systems in which it lay 
dispersed. Hence it happened, that the Athenians, rejected 
certain opinions that were entertained by the philosophers of 



172 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. , 

Alexandria. None, however, who were ambitious to be 
ranked among these new Platonists, called in question the 
main doctrines, which formed the groundwork of their sin- 
gular system; those, for example, which regarded the existence 
of one God; the fountain of aU things-, the eternity of the world 
the dependence of matter upon the Supreme Being; the nature 
of souls: the plurality of gods; the method of interpreting the 
popular superstitions, fyc. 

The famous questions concerning the excellence and utili- 
ty of human learning, was now debated with great warmth 
among the Christians, and the contending parties, in this con- 
troversy, seemed hitherto of equal force in point of numbers,, 
or nearly so. Many recommended the study of philosophy, 
and an acquaintance with the Greek and Roman literature; 
while others maintained, that these were pernicious to the 
interests of genuine Christianity, and the progress of true pi- 
ety. The cause of letters and philosophy triumphed, how- 
ever by degrees; and those who wished well to them, gained 
ground more and more, till at length the superiority was 
manifestly decided in their favor. This victory w^as princi- 
pally due to the influence and authority of Origen, who hav- 
ing been early instructed in the new kind of platonism al- 
ready metioned, blended it unhappily with the pure and more 
sublime tenets of a celestial doctrine, and recommended it, 
in the warmest manner, to the youth who attended his pub- 
lic lessons. The fame of this philosopher increased daily 
among the Christians; and, in proportion to his rising credit, 
his method of proposing and explaining the doctrines of 
Christianity gained authority, till it became almost universal. 
Beside, some of the disciples of Plotinus having embraced 
Christianity, on condition that they should be allowed to re- 
tain such of the opinions of their master as they thought of 
superior excellence and merit, this must also have contribu- 
ted, in some measure, tojj turn the balance in favor of the 
sciences. These christian philosophers preserving still a 
fervent zeal for the doctrines of their heathen chief, would 
naturally embrace every opportunity of spreading them 
abroad, and instilling them into the minds of the ignorant 
and the unwary. 



TEACHERS, CHURCH GOVERNMENT, &C. 173 

CHAPTER II. 

CERNING THE TEACHERS AXD MINISTERS OF THE CHURCH, AND IT? 
FORM OF GOVERNMENT, DURING THIS CENTURY. 

The form of Church government — the Bishop of Rome — church government 
degenerates into a monarchal form — vices of the clergy — the less orders — 
manage of the clergy — principal writers. 

The form of church government that had been adopted by 
Christians in general, had now acquired greater degrees of 
stability and force, both in particular churches, and in the 
universal society of Christians collectively considered. It 
appears incontestable from the most authentic records, and 
the best histories of this century, that in the larger cities, there 
was, at the head of each church, a person to whom was giv- 
en the title of bishop who ruled this sacred community with 
a certain sort of authority, in concert, however, with the 
body of presbyters, and consulting, in matters of moment, the 
opinion and voices of the whole assembly. It is also 
equally evident, that, in every province, one bishop was 
ested with a certain superiority over the rest, in point of 
rank and authority, This was necessary to the maintenance 
of that association of churches that had been introduced in 
the preceding century; and contributed, moreover, to facili- 
tate the holding of general councils, and to give a certain de- 
gree of order and consistence to their proceedings. It must 
at the same time, be carefully observed, that the rights and 
privileges of these primitive bishpps, were not, every where, 
accurately fixed, nor determined in such a manner as to pre- 
vent encroachments and disputes; nor does it appear, that 
the chief authority, in the province, was always conferred 
upon that bishop who presided over the church established 
in the metropolis. It is further to be noticed, as a matter 
beyond all dispute, that the bishops of Rome, Antioch, and 
Alexandria, considered as rulers of primitive and apostolic 
churches, had a kind of pre-eminence over all others, and 
were not only consulted frequently in affairs of a difficult 
and momentous nature, but were also distinguished by pecu- 
liar rights and privileges. 

With respect, particularly, to the bishop of Rome, he is 
supposed by Cyprian to have had, at this time, a certain 
pre-eminence in the church; nor does he stand alone in this 






174 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

opinion. But it is to be carefully observed, that even those 
who, with Cyprian, attributed this pre-eminence to the 
Roman prelate insisted, at the same time, with the utmost 
warmth, upon the equality, in point of dignity and author- 
ity, that subsisted among all the members of the episcopal 
order. In consequence of this opinion of an equality among 
all christian bishops, they rejected, with contempt, the judg- 
ment of the bishop of Rome, when they thought it ill foun- 
ded or unjust, and followed their own sense of things with 
a perfect independence. Of this Cyprian himself gave an 
eminent example, in his famous controversy with Stephen 
bishop of Rome, concerning the baptism of heretics, in which 
he treated the arrogance of that imperious prelate with a 
noble indignation, and also with a perfect contempt. Who- 
ever, therefore; compares all these things together, will ea- 
sily perceive, that the pre-eminence of the bishop of Rome, 
was a pre-eminence of order and association, and not of pow- 
er and authority. Or, to explain the matter yet more clear- 
ly, the pre-eminence of the bishop of Rome, in the universal 
church, was such as that of Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, 
was in the African churches. And every one knows, that 
the precedence of this latter prelate diminished in nothing 
the equality that subsisted among all African bishops, inval- 
idated in no instance their rights and liberties; but gave on- 
ly to Cyprian, as the president of their general assemblies^ 
a power of calling councils, of presiding in them, of ad- 
monishing his brethren in a mild and fraternal manner, 
and of executing, in short, such offices as the order and pur- 
poses of these ecclesiastical meetings necessarily required. 
The face of things began now to change in the christian 
church. The ancient method of church government seemed, 
in general; still to subsist, while, at the same time, by im- 
perceptible steps, it varied from the primitive rule, and de- 
generated toward the form of a religious monarchy. For 
the bishops aspired to higher degrees of power and authori- 
ty than they had formerly possessed; and not only violated 
the rights of the people, but also made gradual encroach- 
ments upon ihe privileges of the presbyters. And that they 
mightcover these usurpations with an air of justice, and an 
appearance of reason, they published new doctrines con- 
cerning the nature of the church, and of the episcopal digni- 
ty which, however, were in general so obscure, that they them- 
selves seem to have understood them as little as those to 



TEACHERS, CHUSCH GOVERNMENT, &C. 175 

whom they were delivered. One of the principal authors 
of this government of the church, was Cyprian, who pleaded 
for the power of the bishops with more zeal and vehemence 
than had ever been hitherto employed in that cause, though 
not with an unshaken constancy and perseverance; for, in 
difficult and perilous times, necessity sometimes obliged him 
to yield, and submit several things to the judgment and au- 
thority of the church. 

This change, in the form of church government, was soon 
followed by a train of vices, which dishonored the character 
and authority of those to whom the administration of the 
church was committed. For, though several yet continued 
to exhibit to the world illustrious examples of primitive pi- 
ety aud christian virtue, yet many were sunk in luxury and 
voluptuousness, puffed up with vanity, arrogance, and am- 
bition, possessed with a spirit of contention and discord, and 
and addicted to many other vices that cast on undeserved 
reproach upon the holy religion, of which they were the 
unworthy professors and ministers. This is testified in such 
an ample manner, by the repeated complaints of many of 
the most respectable writers of this age, that truth will not 
permit us to spread the veil, which we should otherwise be 
desirous to cast over such enormities among an order so sa- 
cred. The bishops assumed, in many places, a princely au- 
thority, particularly to those whe had the greatest number 
of churches under their inspection, and who presided over 
the most opulent assemblies. They appropriated to their 
evangelic function the splendid ensigns of temporal majes- 
ty. A throne, surrounded with ministers, exalted above his 
equals the servant of the meek and humble Jesus; and sump- 
tuous garments dazzled the eyes and the minds of the mul- 
titude into an ignorant veneration for their arrogated au- 
thority. The example of the bishops was ambitiously initia- 
ted by the presbyters, who neglected the sacred duties of their 
station, abandoned themselves to the indolence and delica- 
cy of an effeminate and luxurious life. The deacons, be- 
holding the presbyters deserting thus their functions, boldly 
usurped their rights and privileges; and the effects of a cor- 
rupt ambition were spread through every rank of the sacred 
order. 

From what has been now observed, we may come, per- 
haps, at the true origin of minor or lesser orders, which were, 
in this century, added every where to those of the bishops pres- 



176 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

bytcrs and deacons. For, certainly, the titles and offices of sub- 
deacons, acolyuhi, ostiarii, or doorkeepers, readers, exorcists, 
eopiatce, would never have been heard of in the church, if its- 
rulers had been assiduously and zealously employed in pro- 
moting the interests of truth and piety by their labors and 
their example. But when the honors and privileges of the 
bishops and presbyters were augmented, the deacons also be- 
gan to extend their ambitious views, and to dispise those low- 
er functions and employments which they had hitherto ex- 
ercised with such humility and zeal. The additional orders 
that were now created to diminish the labors of the present 
rulers of the church, had functions allotted to them, which 
their names partly explain. The institution of exorcists was 
a consequence of the doctrine of the new platonists, which 
the Christians adopted, and which taught that the evil genii, 
or spirits, were continually hovering over human bodies, to- 
ward -which they were carried by a natural and vehement 
desire; and that vicious men were not so much impelled to 
sin by an innate depravity, or by the seduction of example, 
as by the internal suggestions of some evil demon. The 
copialcE were employed in providing for the decent interment 
of the dead. 

Marriage was permitted to all the various ranks and orders 
of the clergy, high and low. Those, however, who contin- 
ued in a state of celibacy, obtained by this abstinence a 
higher reputation of sanctity and virtue than others. This 
was owing to an almost general persuasion, that they, who 
took wives, were of all others the most subject to the influ- 
ence of malignant demons. And as it was of infinite im- 
portance to the interests of the church, that no impure or 
malevolent spirit entered into the bodies of such as were 
appointed to govern or to instruct others; so the people were 
desirous that the clergy should use their utmost efforts to ab- 
stain from the conjugal life. Many of the sacred order, es- 
pecially in Africa, consented to satisfy the desires of the 
people, and endeavored to do this in such a manner, as 
not to offer an entire violence to their own inclinations. For 
this purpose, they formed connexions with those women 
who had made vows of perpetual chastity; and it was an or- 
dinary thing for a church to admit one of these fair saints 
to the participation of his bed, but still under the most sol- 
emn declarations that nothing passed in this commerce that 
was contrary to the rules of chastity and virtue. These holy 



TEACHERS, CHUSCH GOVERNMENT, ScC. 177 

concubines were called by the Greeks, Suneisaktoi and by the. 
Latins, Midieres subintrod 'uctce. This indecent custom alarm, 
ed the zeal of the more pious among the bishops, who em 
ployed the utmost efforts of their severity and vigilance to 
abolish it, though it was a longtime before they entirely eff- 
ected this laudable purpose. 

Thus we have given a short, though not a very pleasing 
view of the rulers of the church during this century; and 
should now mention the principal writers that distinguished 
themselves in it by their learned and pious productions. — 
The most eminent of these, whether we consider the extent 
of his fame or the multiplicity of his labors, was Origen, 
presbyter and catechist of Alexandria, a man of vast and un- 
common abilities, and the greatest luminary of the christian 
world that this age exhibited to view. Had the justness of 
his judgment been equal to the immensity of his genius, the 
fervor of his piety, his indefatigable patience, his extensive 
erudition, and his other eminent and superior talents, all 
encomiums must have fallen short of his merit. Yet such 
as he was his virtue and his labors deserve the admiration 
of all ages; and his name will be transmitted with honor 
through the annals of time as long as learning and genius 
shall be esteemed among men. 

The second in renown among the writers of this century, 
was Julius Africanus, a native of Palestine, a man of the 
most profound erudition, but the greatest part of whose learn- 
ed labors are unhappily lost. 

Hippolytus, whose history is much involved in darkness, is 
also esteemed among the most celebrated authors and mar- 
tyrs of this age; but those writings, which at present bear 
his name, are justly looked upon by many as either extremely 
corrupted, or entirely spurious. 

Gregory, bishop of New Cesarea, acquired at this time, 
the title of Thaumaturgus, i. e. wonderworker, on account 
of the variety of great and signal miracles, which he is said 
to have wrought during the course of his ministry. Few of 
his works have come down to our times, and his miracles are 
called in question by many, as unsupported by sufficient evi- 
dence. 

It were to be wished that we had more of the writings of 
Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, than those which have sur- 
vived the ruins of time, since the few remaining fragments 
of his works discover the most consummate wisdom andpru- 



178 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

dence, and the most amiable spirit of moderation and can- 
dor, and thus abundantly vindicate, from all suspicion of 
flattery, the ancients who mentioned him under the title of 
Dionysiusthe Great. 

Methodius appears to have been a man of great piety, and 
highly respectable on account of his eminent virtue; but those 
of his works which are yet extant, discover no great degree 
of penetration and acuteness in handling controversy and 
weighing opinions. 

Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, a man of the most eminent 
abilities and flowing eloquence, stands foremost in the list of 
Latin writers, His letters, and indeed the most of his works, 
breathe such a noble and pathetic spirit of piety, that it is 
impossible to read them without the warmest feelings of en- 
thusiasm. We must however observe, that he would have 
been a better writer, had he been less attentive to the orna- 
ments of rhetoric; and a better bishop, had he been able to 
restrain the vehemence of his temper, and to distinguish, 
with more acuteness, between truth and falsehood. 

The dialogue of Minucius Felix, which bears the title of 
Octavius, effaces with such judgment, spirit, and force, the 
calumnies and reproaches that were cast upon the Christians 
by their adversaries, that it deserves an attentive perusal 
from those who are desirous to know the state of the church 
during this century. 

The seven books of Arnobius, the African, written against 
the Gentiles, are a still more copious and ample defence of 
the Christians, and though obscure in several places, may 
yet be read with pleasure and with profit. It is true, that 
this rhetorician, too little instructed in the christian religion 
when he wrote this work, has mingled great errors with sol- 
emn truths; and has exhibited Christianity under a certain 
philosophical form, very different from that in which it is com- 
monly received. 

We refer our readers, for an account of the authors of in- 
ferior note, who lived in this century, to those who have pro- 
iessedly given histories or enumerations of the christian wri- 
ters. 



DOCTRINE OP THE CHURCH. 179 

CHAPTER III. 

CONCERNING THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THIS CEN- 
TURY. 

Christian doctrine — mystic theology — monks and hermits — spreading the sa- 
cred scriptures the lives of Christians — excommunication — penitential dis- 
cipline. 

The principal doctrines of Christianity were now explain- 
ed to the people in their native purity and simplicity, without 
any mixture of abstract reasonings or subtile invention; nor 
were the feeble minds of the multitude loaded with a great 
variety of precepts. But the christian teachers, who had ap- 
plied themselves to the study of letters and philosophy, soon 
abandoned the frequented path, and struck out into the devi- 
ous wilds of fancy. The Egyptians distinguished themselves 
in this new method of explaining the truth. They looked 
upon it as a noble and a glorious task to bring the doctrines 
of celestial wisdom into a certain subjection to the precepts 
of their philosophy, and to make deep and profound re- 
searches into the intimate and hidden nature of those truths 
which the divine Savior had delivered to his disciples. 
Origen was at the head of this speculative tribe. This great 
man, enchanted by the charms of the platonic philosophy,, 
set it up as the test of all religion; and imagined, that the 
reason of each doctrine were to be found in that favorite 
philosophy, and their nature and extent to be determined 
by it. It must be confessed, that he handled this matter with 
modesty and with caution; but he still gave an example to 
his disciples, the abuse of which could not fail to be perni- 
cious, and under the authority of which they would natural- 
ly indulge themselves without restraint in every wanton fan- 
cy. And so, indeed, the case was; for the disciples of Ori- 
gen, breaking forth from the limits fixed by their master, in- 
terpreted, in the most licentious manner, the divine truths of 
religion according to the tenor of the platonic philosophy. 
From these teachers the philosophical, or s holastic theology, as 
it is called, derives its origin; and proceeding hence, passed 
through various forms and modifications according to the 
genius, turn, and erudition of those who embraced it. 

The same principle gave rise to another species of theology, 
which was called mystic. And what must seem at first sight 
surprising here is, that this mystic theology, though formed at 



180 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

the same time, and derived from the same source with the 
scholastic, yet had a natural tendency to overturn and distroy 
it. The authors of this mystic science are not known, but 
the principles from whence it sprung are manifest. Its first 
promoters proceeded from that known doctrine of the platon- 
ic school, which also was adopted by Origen and his disci- 
ples, that the divine nature was diffused through all human 
souls; or, in other words that the faculty of reason from which 
proceeds the health and vigor of the mind, was an emanation 
from God into the human soul, and comprei hended in it the princi- 
ples and elements of all truth, human and divine. They denied 
that men could, by labor or study, excite this celestial flame 
in their breasts; and therefore, they disapproved highly of 
the attempts of those who, by definitions, abstract theorems, 
and profound speculations, endeavored to form distinct no- 
tions of truth, and to discover its hidden nature. On the 
contrary, they maintained, that silence, tranquility, repose, 
and solitude, accompanied with such acts of mortification as 
might tend to extenuate and exhaust the body, were the 
means by which the hidden and internal word was excited to 
produce its latent virtues, and to instruct men in the know- 
ledge of divine things. For thus they reasoned; „they who 
behold with a noble contempt all human affairs, w r ho turn 
away their eyes from terrestrial vanities, and shut all the 
avenues of the outward senses against the contagious influ- 
ences of a material world, must necessarily return to God 
w r hen the spirit is thus disengaged from the impediment that 
prevented that happy union. And in this blessed frame, 
they not only enjoy inxpressible raptures from their commu- 
nion with the Supreme Being, but also are invested with the 
inestimable privilege of contemplating truth undisguised and 
uncorrupted in its native purity, while others behold it in a 
vitiated and delusive form." 

This method of reasoning produced strange effects, and 
drove many into cavesand deserts where they macerated their 
bodies with hunger and thirst, and submitted to all the mis- 
eries of the severest discipline that a gloomy imagination 
could prescribe. And, it is not improbable that Paul, the first 
hermit, was rather engaged by this fanatical system, than by 
the persecution under Decius, to fly into the most solitary 
deserts of Thebais, where he led, during the space of ninety 
years, a life more worthy of a savage animal than of a ra- 
tional being. It is, however, to be observed, that though 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 181 

Paul is placed at the head of the order of hermits, yet that 
unsociable manner of life was very common in Egypt, Syria, 
India and Mesopotamia, not only long before his time, but 
even before the coming of Christ. Anditis still practised a- 
mong the Mahometans, as well as the Christians, in those 
arid and burning climates. For the glowing atmosphere that 
surrounds these countries is a natural cause of that love of sol- 
itude and repose, of that indolent and melancholy disposi- 
tion, that are remarkably common among their languid in- 
habitants. 

But let us turn away our eyes from these scenes of fanti- 
cism, which are so opprobrious to human nature, and consid- 
er some other circumstances that belong more or less to the 
history of the christian doctrine during this century. And 
here it is proper to mention the useful labors of those, who 
manifested their zeal for the holy scriptures by the care they 
took to have accurate copies of them multiplied every where, 
and that at such moderate prices, as rendered them of easy 
purchase; as also to have them translated into various langua- 
ges, and published in correct editions. Many of the more 
opulent among the Christians contributed generously a great 
part of their substance to the carrying on of these pious and 
excellent undertakings. Pierius and Hesychius in Egypt, 
and Lucian at Antioch, employed much pains in correcting 
the copies of the Se.jtuaguit; and Phamphidusof Caesarea, la- 
bored with great diligence and success in works of the same 
nature, until a glorious martyrdom finished his course. But 
Origen surpassed all others in diligence and assidnity; and 
his famous Hexapla, though almost entirely destroyed by the 
waste of time, will, even in its fragments, remain an eternal 
monument of the incredible application with which that geat 
man labored to remove those obstacles which retarded the 
progress of the gospel. 

After the encomiums we have given to Origen, who has 
an undoubted right to the first place among the interpreters 
of the scriptures in this century, it is not without a deep con- 
cern that we are obliged to add, that he also, by an unhappy 
method, opened a secure retreat for all sorts of errors that a 
wild and irregular imagination could bring forth. Having 
entertained a notion that it was extremely difficult, if not 
impossible, to defend every thing contained in the sacred 
writings from the cavils of heretics and infidels, so long as 
they were explained literally, according to the real import of 



182 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

the terms, he had recourse to the fecundity of a lively imagin- 
ation, and maintained, that the holy scriptures were to be 
interpreted in the same allegorical manner that the platonists 
explained the history of the gods. In consequence of this 
pernicious rule of interpretation, he alleged, that the words 
of scripture were, in many places, absolutely void of sense; 
and that though in others there were, indeed, certain notions 
conveyed under the outward terms according to their literal 
force aud import, yet it was not in these that the true mean- 
ing of the sacred writers w x as to be sought, but in a mysteri- 
ous and hiden sense arising from the nature of the things 
themselves. This hidden sense he endeavors to investigate 
throughout his commentaries, neglecting and despising, for 
the most part, the outward letter, and in this devious path he 
displays the most ingenious strokes of fancy, though always 
at the expense of truth, whose divine simplicity is scarcely 
discernible through the cobweb veil of allegor)^. Nor did 
the inventions of Origen end here. He divided this hidden 
sense, which he pursued with such eagerness, into moral and 
mystical or spiritual. The moral sense of scripture displays 
those doctrines that relate to the inward state of the soul, 
and the conduct of life. The mystical or spiritual sense rep- 
resents the nature, the laws, and the history of the spiritual 
or mystical world. We are not yet at the end of the labyrinth; 
for he subdivided this mystical world of his own creation into 
two distinct regliions, the one of w T hich he called the superior , 
i. e. heaven; and the other the inferior, by which he meant 
the church. This led to another division of mystical sense 
into an earthly or allegorical sense, adapted to the inferior 
world, and a celestial or anagogetical one adapted to the su- 
perior region. This chimerical method of explaining the 
scripture was, before Origen, received by many Christians, 
who were deluded into it by the example of the Jews. But 
as this learned man reduced it into a system, and founded it 
upon fixed and determinate rules, he is, on that account, 
commonly considered as its principal author. 

A prodigious number of interpreters, both in this and the 
succeeding ages, followed the method of Origen though 
with some variation; nor could the few, who explained the 
sacred writings with judgment, and a true spirit of crit- 
icism, oppose, with any success, the torrent of allegory that 
was overflowing the church The commentaries of Hippo- 
lytus, which are yet extant, show manifestly that this good 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 183 

man was entirely addicted to the system of Origen, and the 
same judgment may be hazarded concerning Yietorinus's 
explications of certain books of the Old and New Testement, 
though these explications are long since lost. The transla- 
tion of the Ecclesiastes by Gregory Thaumaturgus, which is 
yet remaining, is not chargeable with this reproach, notwith- 
standing the tender and warm attachment of its author to 
Origen. The book of Genesis and the song of Solomon were 
explained by Methodius, whose work is lost; and Ammonius 
composed a Harmony of the Gospels. 

The doctrinal part of theology employed the pens of many 
learned men in this century. In his Stromaia, and his four 
books of Elements, Origen illustrated the greatest part of the 
doctrines of Christianity, or to speak more properly, rather 
disguised them under the lines of a vain philosophy. These 
books of elements or principles, were the first sketch that ap- 
peared of the scholastic or philosophical theology. Something of 
the same nature was attempted by Theognostus, in hisseven 
looks ofHipotyposcs, which are only known at present by the 
extracts of them in Photius, who represents them as the 
work of one who was infected with the notions of Origen. 
Gregory Thaumaturgus drew up a brief summary of the 
christian religion, in his Exposition of the faith; and many 
treated, in a more ample manner, particular points of doc- 
trine in opposition to the enemies and corrupters of Christi- 
anity. Thus Hypolytus wrote concerning the Deity, the re- 
surrection antichriss, and tli9 end of the world: Methodius, con- 
cerning freewill; ahd Lucian, concerning faith. It is doubtful 
in what class these productions are to be placed, as the most 
of them have perished among the ruins of time. 

Among the moral writers, the first place, after Turtullian, 
of whom we have already spoken above, is due, to Cyprian, 
a prelate of eminent merit, who published several treatises 
concerning patience, morality, uorks alms, as also an exhorta- 
tion to martyrdom. In these dissertations, there are many 
excellent things; but there runs through them all a general 
want of order, precision and method; nor do we always find 
solid proofs in favor of the decisions they contain. Origen 
has written many treatises of this kind, and among others an 
exhortation to suffer martyrdom for the truth; a subject han- 
dled by many authors in this century, but with unequal elo- 
quence and penetration. Methodius treated of chastity, in 
a work entitled, Symposium Virginum, or, the Feasts of Vir- 



184 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

gins; but this treatise is full of confusion and disorder. Di- 
onysius handled the doctrine of penance and temptations. 
The other moral writers of this period are too obscure and 
trivia] to render the mention of them necessary. 

The controversial writers were exceeding numerous in 
this century. The pagans were attacked, and that in a vic- 
torious manner, by Minucius Felix, in his dialogue called Oc- 
tavius; by Origen, in his writings against Celsus; by Arnobius 
in his seven books against the Gentiles; and Cyprian in his trea- 
tise concerning the vanity of idols. The chrojiicle of Hippo- 
lytus, in opposition to the Gentiles; and the work of Metho- 
dius against Porphyry, that bitter adversary of the Christians, 
are both lost. 

We may also reckon, in the number of the Polemic wri- 
ters, those who wrote against the philosophers, or who trea- 
ted any subjects that were disputed between different sects. 
Such was Hippolytus, who wrote against Plato, and who 
also treated the nicest, the most difficult, and the most con- 
troverted subjects, such zisfate, freewill, and the origin of evil 
w T hich exercised, likewise, the pens of Methodius and other 
acute writers. What Hyppolytus wrote against the Jews 
is not»come down to our times; but the work of Cyprian* 
upon that subject, yet remains. Origen, Victorinus, Hippo- 
lytus, attacked, in general, all various sects and heresies that 
divided the church; but their labors in that field, have entire- 
ly disappeared; and as to those, who only turned their con- 
troversial arms against some few sects, and certain particu- 
lar doctrines, we think it not necessary to enumerate them 
here. 

It is, however, necessary to observe, that the methods now 
used of defending Christianity, and attacking Judaism, and 
idolatry, degenerated much from the primitive simplicity, 
and the true rule of controversy. The christian teachers, 
who had been educated in the schools of the rhetoricians, 
and sophists, rashly employed the arts and evasions of their 
subtile masters in the service of Christianity; and, intent 
only upon defeating the enemy, they were too little attentive 
to the means of victory, indifferent whether they acquired it 
by artifice or plain dealing. This method of disputing, 
w r hich the ancients, called economical, and which had victory 
for its object rather than truth, was, in consequence of the 
prevailing taste for rhetoric and sophistry, almost universally 
approved. The platonists contributed to the support and 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 1S5 

encouragement of this ungenerous method of disputing, by 
that maxim of theirs which asserted the innocence of defen- 
ding the truth by artifice and falsehood. This will appear 
manifest to those who have read, with any manner of pene- 
tration and judgment, the arguments of Origen against 
Celsus, and those of the other christian disputants against 
the idolatrous Gentiles. The method of Tertullian, who 
used to plead proscription against erroneous teachers, was 
not perhaps, unfair in this century; but th£y must be much 
unacquainted both with the times, and, indeed, with the na- 
ture of things, who imagine, that it is always allowable to 
employ this method. 

This disingenious and vicious method of surprising their 
adversaries by artifice, and striking them down, as it were, 
by lies and fictions, produced among other disagreeable ef- 
fects, a great number of books, which were falsely attributed 
to certain great men, in order to give these spurious produc- 
tions more credit and weight. For, as the greatest part of 
mankind are less governed by reason than by authority, and 
prefer in many cases, the decisions of fallible mortals to the 
unerring dictates of the divine world, and the disputants, of 
whom we are now speaking, thought they could not serve 
the truth more effectually than by opposing illustrious names 
and respectable authorities to the attacks of its adversaries. 
Hence the book of canons, which certain artful men ascribed 
falsely to the apostles; hence, the apostolical constitu tins, of 
which Clement, bishop of Rome, is said to have formed a col- 
lection; hence the recognitions and the c/emeniina, which are 
also attributed to Clement, and many other productions of 
that nature, which, for a long time, were too much esteem- 
ed by credulous men. 

Nor were the managers of controversy the only persons 
who employed these stratagems; the mystics had recourse 
to the same pious frauds to support their sect. And accord- 
ingly, when they were asked from what chief their establish- 
ment took its rise, to get clear of this perplexing question, 
they feigned a chief, and chose, for that purpose, Dionysius 
the Areopagite, a man of almost Apostolical weight and au- 
thority, who was converted to Christianity, in the first cen- 
tury, by the preaching of St. Paul at Athens. And to ren- 
der thiw fiction more specious, they attributed to this great 
man various treatises concerning the monastic life, the mystic 
theology, and other subjects of that nature, which were the 



186 EXTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

productions of some senseless and insipid writers of after 
times. Thus it happened, through the pernicious influence 
of human passions, which too often mingle themselves with 
the execution of the best purposes, and the most upright in- 
tentions, that they, who were desirous of surpassing all oth- 
ers in piety, looked upon it as lawful, and even laudable, to 
advance the cause of piety by artifice and fraud. 

The most famous controversies that divided the Christians 
during this century, were those concerning the milknium, or 
reign of a thousand years, the baptism of heretics, and the doc- 
trine of Origen. Long before this period, an opinion had 
prevailed that Christ was to come and reign a thousand 
years among men, before the entire and final dissolution of 
this world. This opinion, which had hitherto met with no 
opposition, was differently interpreted by different persons; 
nor did all promise themselves the same kind of enjoyments 
in that future and glorious kingdom. But in this century its 
credit began to decline, principally through the influence 
and authority, of Origen, who opposed it with the greatest 
warmth, because it was incompatible with some of his fa- 
vorite sentiments. JNepos, an Egyptian bishop, endeavored 
to restore this opinion to its former credit, in a book written 
against the allegorists, for so he called, by way of contempt, 
the adversaries of the Millennarian system. This work and 
the hypothesis it defended, was extremely well received by 
great numbers in the canton of Arsinoe; and among others 
by Colacion, n presbyter of no mean influence and reputation. 
But Dionysius of Alexandria, a disciple of Origen, stopped 
the growing progress of this doctrine by his private discourse, 
and also by two learned and judicious dissertations concern- 
ing the divine promises. 

The disputes concerning the baptism of heretics were not 
carried on with that amiable spirit of candor, moderation, 
and impartiality, with which Dionysius opposed the Millen- 
nian doctrine. The warmth and violence that were exerted 
in this controversy, were far from being edifying to such as 
were acquainted with the true genius of Christianity, and 
with that meekness and forbearance that should particularly 
distinguish its teachers. 

As there was no express law which determined the man- 
ner and form, according to which those wdio abandoned the 
heretical sects were to be received into the communion of 
the church, the rules practiced in this matter, were not the 



DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH. 187 

same in all christian churches. Many of the oriental and 
African Christians placed recanting heretics in the rank of 
catechumens, and admitted them, by baptism, into the com- 
munion of the faithful; while the greatest part of the Eu- 
ropean churches, considering the baptism of heretics, as valid 
used no other forms in their reception, that the imposition of 
/unids, accompanied with solemn prayer. This diversity pre- 
vailed for a long time without kindling contentions or ani- 
mosities. But, at length, charity waxed cold, and the fire 
of church discord broke out. In this century the Asiatic 
Christians came to a determination in a point that was hith- 
erto, in some measure, undecided; and in one council estab- 
lished it as a law, that all heretics were to be rebaptised be- 
fore their admission to the communion of the true church. 
When Stephen, bishop of Rome, was informed of this de- 
termination, he behaved with the most unchristian violence 
and arrogance toward the Asiatic Christians, broke commu- 
nion with them, and excluded them from the communion of 
the church of Rome. These haughty proceedings made no 
impression upon Cyprian bishop of Carthage, who notwith- 
standing the menaces, of the Roman pontiff, assembled a 
council on this occasion, adopted, with the rest of the Afri- 
can bishops, the opinion of the Asiatics, and gave notice 
thereof to the imperious Stephen. The tury of the latter 
was redoubled at this notification, and produced many threat- 
enings and invectives against Cyprian, who replied, with 
great force and resolution, and in a second council held at 
Carthage, declared the baptism, administered by heretics, 
void of all efficacy and validity. Upon this, the choler of 
Stephen swelled beyond measure; and by a decree full of in- 
vectives, which was received with contempt, he excommuni- 
cated the African bishops, whose moderation, on the one 
hand, and the death of their imperious antagonist on the 
other, put an end to the violent controversy. 

The controversy concerning Origen was set in motion by 
Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria, animated, as some say, by 
a principle of envy, and hatred against this learned man, 
with whom he had formerly lived in an intimate friendship. 
The assertion however, of those who attribute the opposition 
of Demetrius to this odious principle, appears something 
more than doubtful; for in the whole of his conduct toward 
Origen, there are no visible marks of envy, though many 
indeed of passion and arrogance, of violence and injustice. 



188 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

The occasion of all this was as follows; in the year 228, Ori- 
gen having set out for Achaia, was in his journey thither, 
received with singular marks of affection and esteem by the 
bishops of Cs3sarea and Jerusalem, who ordained him pres- 
byter by imposition of hands. This proceeding gave high 
offence to Demetrius, who declared Origen unworthy of the 
priesthood, because he had castrated himself, and maintained 
at the same time, that it was not lawful to advance, to a high- 
er dignity, the principal of the Alexandrian school, which 
was under his episcopal inspection, without his knowledge 
and approbation. A conclusion however, was put to 
these warm debates, and Origen, returned to Alexandria. — 
This calm was, indeed^ but of a short duration, being soon 
succeeded by a new breach between him and Demetrius, the 
occasion of which is not known, but which grew to such a 
height as obliged Origen, in the year 231, to abandon his 
charge at Alexandria, and retire, to Caesarea. His absence, 
however did not appease the resentment oi Demetrius, who 
continued to persecute him with the utmost violence. To 
satisfy fully his vengeance against Origen, he assembled 
two councils, in the first of which he condemned him unheard 
and deprived him of his office; and in the second, had him 
degraded from the sacredotal dignity. It is probable, that 
in one of these councils especially the latter, Demetrius ac- 
cused him of erroneous sentiments in matters of religion; 
for it was about this time that Origen published his book of 
principles; which contains several opinions of a dangerous 
tendency. The greatest part of the christian bishops appro- 
ved of the proceedings of the Alexandrian council, against 
which the bishops of the churches of Achaia, Palestine, Phoe- 
nicia, and Arabia, declared at the same time the highest dis- 
pleasure. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CONCERNING THE RITES AND CEREMONIES USED IN THE CHURCH DURING 

THIS CENTURY. 

Ceremonies multiplied — the causes — the christian assemblies — disputes about 
Easter — prevailed between the Asiatics and Romans — celebration of the 
Lord's supper — baptism. 

All the records of this century mention the multiplication 
of rites and ceremonies in the christian church. Several of 



RITES AND CEREMONIES. 189 

the causes that contributed to this have been already point- 
ed out; to which we may add, as a principal one, the pas- 
sion which now reigned for the platonic philosophy, or rath- 
er for the popular oriental superstition concerning demons, 
adopted by the Platonists, and borrowed, unhappily from 
them, by the Christian teachers. For there is not the least 
doubt, but that many of the rites, now introduced into the 
church, derived their origin from the reigning opinions con- 
cerning the nature of demons, and the powers and operations 
of invisible beings. Hence the use of exorcisms and spells, the 
frequency of fasts, and the aversion to wedlock. Hence the 
custom of avoiding all connexions with those w r ho were not 
as yet baptized, or who lay under the penalty of excommu- 
nication, as persons supposed to be under the dominion of 
some malignant spirit. And hence the rigor and severity 
of that discipline and penance that were imposed upon 
those who had incurred, by their immoralities, the censures 
of the church. 

In most of the provinces that were, at this time, certain 
fixed places set apart for public worship among the Chris- 
tians, as will appear evident to every impartial inquirer 
into these matters. Nor is it absolutely improbable, that 
these churches were, in several places, embellished with im- 
ages and other ornaments. 

With respect to the form of divine worship, and the times 
appointed for its celebration, there were little innovations 
made in this century. Two things, however, deserve to be 
taken notice of here; the first is, that the discourses or ser- 
mons, addressed to the people, were very different from those 
of the earlier times of the church, and degenerated much 
from the ancient simplicity. For, not to say any thing of 
Origen, who introduced long sermons, and w r as the first who 
explained the scriptures in his discourses, several bishops, 
who had received there education in the schools of the rhe- 
toricians, w r ere exactly scrupulous, in adapting their public 
'iortations and discourses to the rules of Grecian eloquence. 
And this method gained such credit, as to be soon, almost 
universally followed. The second thing that we proposed 
to mention as worthy of notice is, that about this time, the 
use of incense was introduced, at least, into many churches. 
This has been denied by some men of eminent learning; the 
fact, however, is rendered evident, by the most unexception- 
able testimonies. 



189 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

Several alterations were now introduced, in the celebra- 
tion of the Lord's supper, by those who had the direction 
of divine worship. The prayers, used upon this occasion, 
were lengthened; and the solemnity and pomp, with which 
this important institution was celebrated, were considerably 
increased; no doubt, with a pious intention to render it still 
more respectable. Those who were in ^penitential state, and 
those also who had not received the sacrament of baptism, 
were not admitted to this holy supper; and it is not difficult 
to perceive, that these exclusions were an imitation of what 
w r as practised in the heathen mysteries. We find, by the ac- 
counts of Prudentius and others, that gold and silver vessels 
were now used in the administration of the Lord's supper; 
nor is there any reason why we should not adopt this opin- 
ion, since it is very natural to imagine, that those churches, 
which were composed of the most opulent members, would 
readily indulge themselves in this piece of religous pomp. 
As to the time of celebrating this solemn ordinance, it must 
be carefully observed, that there was a considerable variation 
in different churches, arising from their different circum- 
stances, and founded upon reasons of prudence and neces- 
sity. In some, it was celebrated in the morning; in others, 
at noon; and in others, in the evening. It was also more 
frequently repeated in some churches, than in others; but 
was considered in all as of the highest importance, and as 
essential to salvation: for which reason it was even thought 
proper to administer it to infants. The saered feasts, that 
accompanied this venerable institution, preceded its celebra- 
tion in some churches, and followed it in others. 

There were, twice a year, stated times, when baptism was 
administered to such as, after a long course of trial and 
preparation, offered themselves as candidates for the profes- 
sion of Christianity. This ceremony was performed only in 
the presence of such as were already initiated into the chris- 
tian mysteries. The remission of sins was thought to be its im- 
mediate and happy fruit; while the bishop, by prayer and the 
imposition of hands, was supposed to confer those sanctify- 
ing gifts of the Holy Ghost, that are necessary to a life of 
righteousness and virtue. We have already mentioned the 
principal rites that were used in the administration of bap- 
tism; and we have only to add, that none were admitted to 
this solemn ordinance, until, by the menacing and formidable 
shouts and declamation of the exorcist, they had been deliv- 



RITES AND CEREMONIES. 190 

ered from the dominion of the prince of darkness, and con- 
secrated to the service of God. The origin of this supersti- 
tious ceremony may be easily traced, when we consider the 
prevailing opinions of the times. The Christians in general 
were persuaded that rational souls, deriving their existence from 
God, must consequent/]/ be in themselves pure, holy, and endowed 
with, the noble principles of liberty and virtue. But upon this 
supposition, it was difficult to account for the corrupt pro- 
pensities and actions of men, any other way than by attri- 
buting them either to the malignant nature of matter, or the 
influence or impulse of some evil spirit, who was perpetual- 
ly compelling them to sin. The former of these opinions 
was embraced by the gnostics, but was rejected by true 
Christians, who denied the eternity of matter, considered it 
as a creature of God, and therefore adopted the latter notion, 
that in all vicious persons there was a certain evil being, the 
author and source of their corrupt dispositions and unrigh- 
teous deeds. The driving out this demon was now consider- 
ed as an essential preparation for baptism, after the admin- 
istration of which, the candidates returned home, adorned 
with (frowns, and arrayed with white garments, as sacred 
emblems; the former of their victory over sin and the world; 
the latter of their inward purity and innocence. 

Fasting began now to be held in more esteem than it had 
formerly been; a high degree of sanctity was attributed 10 
this practice, and it was even looked upon as of indispensa- 
ble necessity, from a notion that the demons directed their 
stratagems principally against those who pampered them- 
selves with delicious fare, and were less troublesome to the 
lean and hungry, who lived under the severities of a rigor- 
ous abstinence. The Latins, contrary to the general custom, 
fasted the seventh day of the week; and as the Greeks and 
orientals refused to follow their example here, this afforded 
a new subject of contention between them. 

The Christians offered up their ordinary prayers at three 
stated times of the day, viz. at the third, the sixth and the 
ninth hour, according to the custom observed among the 
Jews. But besides these stated devotions, true believers 
were assiduous in their addresses to the Supreme Being, and 
poured forth frequently their vows and supplications before 
his throne, because they considered prayer as the most essen- 
tial duty, as well as the noblest employment, of a sanctified 
nature. At those festivals,, which recalled the memory of 



191 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

some joyful event, and were to be celebrated with expressions 
of thanksgiving and praise, they prayed standing, as they 
thought that posture' the fittest to express their joy and 
their confidence. On days of contrition and fasting, they 
presented themselves upon their knees before the throne of 
the Most High, to express their profound humiliation and 
abasement. Certain forms of prayer were, undoubtedly, 
used in many places, both in public and in private; but many 
also expressed their pious feelings in the natural effusions of 
an unpremeditated eloquence. 

The sign of the cross was supposed to administer a victori- 
ous power over all sorts of trials and calamities, and was 
more especially considered as the surest defence against the 
snares and stratagems of malignant spirits. And hence it 
that no Christian undertook any thing of moment, with- 
out arming himself with the influence of this triumphant sign. 



CHAPTER V. 

CONCERNING THE DIVISIONS AND HERESIES THAT TEOUBLED THE CHURCH 
DURING THIS CENTURY. 

The remains of ancient sects — Manas and his followers — his doctrine of two 
principles — his doctrine concerning man — concerning Christ |>and| the 
Holy Spirit — concerning the purification of souls and their future condition 
— the. stale of the unpurified souls — his views concerning the Old and New 
Testaments — his rule of life — his disciples divided — the sect of the Hiera- 
cites — the Noetian controversy — Sabellius — Beryilus — Paul of Samosata — 
Arabian philosophers — Novatians. 

The same sects that, in the former ages, had produced 
such disorder and perplexity in the christian church, contin- 
ued, in this, to create new troubles, and to foment new di- 
visions. The Montanists, Valentinians, Marcionites, and 
the other gnostics, continued still to draw out their forces, 
notwithstanding the repeated defeats they had met with; 
and their obstinacy remained even when their strength was 
gone, as it often happens in religious controversies. Adel- 
phius and Aquilinus, who were of the gnostic tribe, endea- 
vored to insinuate themselves and their doctrine into the es- 
teem of the public, at Rome, and in other places in Italy. 
They were however opposed not only by the Christians, but 
also by Plotinus, the greatest platonic philosopher of this 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 192 

age, who, followed by a numerous train of disciples, op- 
posed these two chimerical teachers, and others of the same 
kind, with as much vigor and success as the most enlightened 
Christians could have done. The philosophical opinions 
which this fraction entertained concerning the Supreme Be- 
ing, the origin of the world, the nature of evil and several 
other subjects, were entirely opposite to the doctrines of 
Plato, hence the disciples of Jesus, and the followers of 
Platonus, joined together their efforts against the progress of 
gnosticism; and there is no doubt but that their united force 
soon destroyed the credit and anthority of this fantastic sect, 
and rendered it contemptible in the estimation of the wise. 

While the Christians were struggling with these corrupters 
of the truth, and upon the point of obtaining a complete 
and decisive victory, a new enemy, more vehement and odi- 
ous than the rest, started up suddenly, and engaged in the 
contest. This was Manes, or Manichaeus, as he sometimes 
is called by his disciples, by birth a Persian; educated among 
the magi, and himself one of that number, before he em- 
braced the profession of Christianity.^ Instructed in all those 
arts and sciences, which the Persians, and the other neigh- 
boring nations, held in the highest esteem, he had penetrated 
into the depths of astronomy in the midst of a rural life; 
studied the art of healing, and applied himself to painting 
and philosophy. His genius was vigorous and sublime, but 
redundant and ungoverned; and his mind, destitute of a 
proper temperature, seemed to border on fanaticism and 
madness. He was so adventurous as to attempt a coalition 
of the doctrine of the magi with the christian system, or 
rather the explication of the one by the other; and, in order 
to succeed in this audacious enterprise, he affirmed that 
Christ had left the doctrine of salvation unfinished and im- 
perfect; and that he was the comforter, whom the departing 
Savior had promised to his disciples to lead them to all 
truth. Many were deceived by the eloquence of this enthu- 
siast, by the gravity of his countenance, and the innocence 
and simplicity of his manners; so that, in a short time, he 
formed a sect not utterly inconsiderable in point of number. 
He was put to death by Varanes 1. king of the Persians; 
though historians are not agreed concerning the cause, the 
time, and manner of his execution. 

The doctrine of Manes, was a mixture of the tenets of 
Christianity with the ancient philosophy of the Persians, 



103 INTERNA!, HXfeTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

which he had been instructed in during his youth. He com- 
bined these two systems, and -applied and accommodated to 
Jesus Christ the characters and actions which the Persians 
attributed to the god Mithras. The principal doctrines of 
Manes are comprehended in the following summary. 

"There are two, principles from which all things proceed, 
the one is a most pure and subtile matter, edited Light) and the 
other a gross and corrupt substance, called Darkness. Each of 
these are subject to the dominion of a superintending Being, 
whose existanee is from all eternity. The Being, who pre~*> 
sides over the light, is called God; he that rures the land of 
Darkness, bears the title ot Kyle, or Demon, The ruler of 
the Light is supremely happy; and in consequence thereof, 
benevolent and good; the Prince of Darkness is unhappy in 
himself; anddesiring to render others partakers of his misery, 
is evil and malignant. These two beings have produced an 
immense multitude of creatures, resembling themselves, and 
distributed them through their respective provinces. 

"The Prince of Darkness knew not, for a long series of ages? 
that Light existed in the universe; and no sooner perceived 
it, by the means of a war that was kindled in his dominion, 
than he bent his endeavors toward subjecting it to his 
empire. The Ruler of the Light opposed to his efforts an 
army commanded by the first man, but not with the highest 
success, for the generals of the Prince of Darkness seized 
upon a considerable portion of the celestial elements, and 
of the Light itself, and mingled them in the mass of corrupt 
matter. The second general of the Ruler of the Light, 
whose name was the living spirit, made war with more suc- 
cess against the Prince of Darkness, but could not entirely 
disengage the pure particles of the celestial matter, from 
the corrupt mass through which they had been dispersed. 
The Prince of Darkness, after his defeat, produced the first 
parents of the human race. The beings engendered from 
this original stock, consist of a body formed out of the cor- 
rupt matter of the kingdom of Darkness, and of two souls; 
one of which is sensitive and lustful, and owes its existence 
to the evil principle; the other rational and immortal, a parti- 
cle of that divine Light, which was carried away by the ar- 
my of Darkness, and immersed into the mass of malignant 
matter. 

"Mankind being thus formed by the Prince of Darkness, 
and those minds, that were the productions of the eternal 



DIVISIONS AM) HERESIES. 191 

Light, being united to their mortal bodies', God created the 
earth out of the corrupt mass of matter, by. that living spirit, 
who had vanquished the Prince of Darkness. The design 
■of this creation was to furnish a dwelling for the human race, 
to deliver, by degrees, the captive souls from the corporal 
prisons, and to extract the celestial element from the gross 
substance in which they were involved. In order to carry, 
this design into execution. God produced tim beings of emi- 
nent dignity from, his own substance, which were to lend 
their auspicious succors to imprisoned souls; one of these 
sublime entities- was Christ; and the other, the Holy Ghost. 
Christ is that glorious intelligence, which the Persians called 
Mithras; he is a most splendid substance, consisting of the 
brightness of the Eternal Light; subsisting in, and by himself 
endowed with life; enriched with infinite wisdom; and his 
residence is in the sun. The Holy Ghost is also a luminous 
and animated body, diffused throughout every part of the 
atmosphere which surrounds this tetrestrial globe. This 
genial principle warms and illuminates the minds of men, ren- 
ders also the earth fruitful, and draws forth gradually from 
its bosom the latent particles of celestial fire, which it wafcs 
up on high to their primitive station. 

"After that the Supreme Being had, for a= long time, ad- 
monished and exhorted the captive souls, by the ministry of 
the angels and of holy men, raised up and appointed for that 
purpose, he ordered, Christ to leave the solar regions, and to 
descend upon earth, in order to accelerate the return of thbse 
imprisoned spirits to their celestial country. In obedience 
to this divine command, Christ appeared among the Jews, 
clothed with the shadowy form of a human body, and not 
with the real substance. During his ministry, he taught 
mortals how to disengage the rational soul from a corrupt: 
body, to conquer the violence of malignant matte/, and he 
demonstrated his divine mission by stupendous miracles, — 
On the other hand, the Prince of Darkness used every meth- 
od to inflame the Jews against the divine messenger, and 
incited them at length to put him to death upon an ignomin- 
ious cross; which punishment, however, he suffered not in re- 
ality, but only in appearance, and in. the opinion of men. 
When Christ had fulfilled the purposes of his mission, he re- 
curned to his throne in the sun, and appointed a certain 
number of chosen apostles to .propagate through the wor!4 
the religion he had taught during the course of his ministry. 



195 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHUROT- 

But before his departure, he promised, that, at a certain pe- 
riod of time, he would send an apostle superior to all others 
in eminence and dignity, whom he called the paraclete, or 
comforter, who should add many things to the precepts he 
had delivered, and dispel all the errors under which his ser- 
vants labored concerning divine things. This comforter, thus 
expressly promised by Christ, is Manes the Persian, who, by 
the order of the Most High, declared to mortals the whole 
doctrine of salvation, without exception, and without con- 
cealing any of its truths, under the veil of metaphor, or any 
other covering. 

"Those souls, who believe Jesus Christ to be the son of 
. God, renounce the worship of the God of the Jews," who is 
the Prince of Darkness, obey the laws delivered by Christ as 
they a^e enlarged and illustrated by the comforter, Manes, 
and combat, with persevering fortitude, the lusts and appe- 
tites of a corrupt nature, derive from this faith and obedience 
the inestimable advantage of being gradually purified from 
the contagion of matter. The tola/ purification of souls cannot 
indeed be accomplished during this mortal life. Hence it is, that 
the souls of men, after death, must pass through two states 
more of probation and trial, by water and^/Ere, before they 
can ascend to the regions of Light. They mount, therefore 
first into the moon, which consists, of benign and salutary 
water; from whence, after a lustration, of fifteen days, they 
proceed to the sun whose purifying fire removes entirely all 
their corruption, and effaces all their stains. The bodies, 
composed of malignant matter, which they have left behind 
them, return to their first state, and enter into their original 
mass. 

"On the other hand, r those souls who have neglected the sa- 
lutary work of their purification, pass, after death, into the 
bodies of animals, or other natures, where they remain un- 
til they have expiated their guilt, and accomplished their 
probation. Some, on account of their peculiar obstinacy 
and perverseness, pass through a severer course of trial, be- 
ing delivered over, for a certain time, to the pow r er of ma- 
lignant aerial spirits, who torment them in various ways. 
"When the greatest part of the captive souls are restored to 
liberty, and to the regions of light, then a devouring fire 
shall break forth, at the divine command, from the caverns 
n which it is at present confined, and shall destroy and con- 
ume the frame of the world. After this tremendous event. 









DIVISIONS AND HERESIES 196 

the Prince and powers of darkness shall be forced to return 
to their primitive seats of anguish and misery, in which they 
shall dwell for ever. For, to prevent their ever renewing 
this war in the regions of light, God shall surround the man- 
sions of Darkness with an invincible guard, composed of 
those souls who are irrecoverably fallen from the hopes of 
salvation, and who, set in array, like a military band, shall 
surround those gloomy seats of wo, and hinder any of their 
wretched inhabitants from coming forth again to the light." 

In order to remove the strongest obstacles that lay against 
the belief of this monstrous system, Manes rejected almost 
all the sacred books in which Christians look for the sublime 
truths of their holy religion. He affirmed, in the first place 
that the Old Testament was not the word of God bat of the 
Prince of Darkness, who was substituted by the Jews in the 
place of the true God. He maintained farther, that the Four 
Gospels which contain the history#of Christ, were not writ- 
ten by the apostles, or, at least, that they were corrupted 
and interpolated by designing and artful men, and were aug- 
mented with Jewish fables and fictions. He therefore sup- 
plied their place, by a gospel, which he said was dictated to 
him by God himself, and which he distinguished by the title 
of Erteng. He rejected also the Acts of the Apostles; and 
though he acknowledged the epistles that are attributed to 
St. Paul, to be the productions of that divine apostle, yet he 
looked upon them as considerably corrupted and falsified in 
a variety of passages. We have not any certain account of 
the judgment he formed concerning the other books of the 
NeW Testament. 

The rule of life and manners that Manes prescribed to his 
disciples was most extravagantly rigorous and austere. He 
commanded them to mortify and macerate the body which 
he looked upon as intrinsically evil and essentially corrup 
to deprive it of all those objects which could contribute either 
to its conveniency or delight; to extirpate all those desires 
that lead to the pursuit of external objects; and to divest 
themselves of all the passions and instincts of nature. Such 
was the unnatural rule of practice which this enormous fa- 
natic prescribed to his followers; but foreseeing, at the same 
time, that his sect could not possibly become numerous, if 
this severe manner of living wasto be imposed without dis- 
tinction upon all his adherents, he divided his disciples into 
tivo classes; the on: of which comprehended the perfect Chris- 



197 INTERNAL HISTORY •OF'THH CHURCH. 

tians, under the name of the elect; and the other, the imper- 
fect and feeble under the title of hearers. The elect were ob^ 
liged to a rigorous and entire abstinence from flesh, eggs, 
milk, fish, wine, all intoxicating drink, wedlock, and all am- 
orous gratifications; and to live in a state of the sharpest 
penury, nourishing their shriveled and emaciated bodies with 
bread, herbs, pulse, and melons, and depriving themselves 
of all the comforts that arise from the moderate indulgence 
of natural passions, and also from a variety of innocent 
and agreeable pursuits. The discipline, appointed for the 
hearers was of a milder nature. They were allowed to pos- 
sess houses, lands, and wealth, to feed upon flesh, to enter 
into the bonds of conjugal tenderness, but this liberty was 
granted them with many limitations, and under the strictest 
conditions of moderation and temperance. 

The general assembly of the Manicheans was headed by 
a president who represented Jesus Christ. There were join- 
ed to him twelve rulers ov masters, who were designed to rep- 
resent the twelve apostles; and these were followed by seventy- 
two bishops, the images of the seventy-two disciples of our Cord, 
These bishops had presbyters and deacons under them, and 
all the members of these religious orders were chosen out of 
the class of the elect. 

The sect of the Hieracites was formed in Egypt, towards 
the conclusion of this century, by Hierax of Leontim: a book- 
seller by profession, and distinguished eminently by his ex- 
tensive learning, and a venerable -air of sanctity and virtue* 
Some have considered this as a branch of the Manichean sect, 
bat without foundation; since notwithstanding the agree- 
ment of Manes and Hierax in some points of doctrine, it is 
certain that they differed in many respects. Hierax main- 
tained that the principal object of Christ's office and minis- 
try was the promulgation of a new law, more severe and 
perfect than that of Moses; and from hence he concluded^ 
that the use of flesh, wine, wedlock, and of other things 
-agreeable to the outward senses, which had been permitted 
under the Mosaic dispensation, was absolutely prohibited and 
abrogated by Christ. If, indeed we look attentively into 
his doctrine, we shall find that, like Manes, he did not think 
that these austere acts of self-denial were imposed by Christ 
indiscriminately upon all, but on such only as were ambitious 
of aspiring to the highest summit of virtue. To this capital 
error he added many others, which were partly the conse- 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 198 

quences of this illusion, and were in part, derived from other 
sources, He excluded for example, from the kingdom of 
heaven children who died before they had arrived to the use 
of reason, and that upon the supposition, that God was bound 
to administer the rewards of futurity to those only who had 
fairly finished their victorious conflict with the body and its 
lasts. He maintained also, that Melcbisedec, king of Salem 
who blessed Abraham ,wasthe Holy Ghost; denied the resur- 
rection of the body, and cast a cloud of obscurity over the 
sacred Scriptures by his allegorical fictions. 

The controversies relating to the divine Trinity, which took 
their rise in the former century, from the introduction of the 
Grecian philosophy into the christian church, were now 
spreading with considerable vigor, and producing various 
methods of explaining that inexplicable doctrine. One of 
the first who engaged in this idle and perilous attempt of ex- 
plaining what every mortal must acknowledge to be incom- 
prehensible, was Noetus of Smyrna, an obscure man, and of 
mean abilities. He affirmed, that the Supreme God, whom 
he called Father .m\A. considered as absolutely indivisible, uni- 
ted himself to the man Christ, whom he called the Son, and 
was born, and crucified with him. From this opinion, Noe- 
tus and his followers were distinguished by the title of Pat- 
ripassians, L e. persons who believe that the Supreme Fath- 
er of the universe and not any other divine person, had expi- 
ated the guilt of the human race. And, indeed, this appel- 
lation belongs to them justly, if the accounts which ancient 
writers give us of their opinions be accurate and impartial. 

About the middle of this century arose Sabellius, an Afri- 
can bishop or presbyter, who, in Pent&polis, a province of 
Cyrenaica, and in Ptolemais, or Barce, its principal city, ex- 
plained, in a manner very little different from that of Noetus 
the doctrine of Scripture concerning the Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost. This dogmatist had a considerable number of 
followers, who adhered to him, notwithstanding that his 
opinions were refuted by Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria. — 
His sentiments were, in some respects, diiferent from those 
of Noetus; the latter was of opinion, that the poison of the 
Father had assumed the human nature of Christ; whereas 
Sabellius maintained, that a certain energy only, proceeding 
from the Supreme Parent, or a certain portion of the divine 
nature, was united to the Son of God, and the man Jesus; 
and he considered, in the same manner, the Holy Ghost, as a 



199 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

portion of the everlasting Father, From hence it appears, 
that the Sabellians, though they might with justice be called 
Patripassians, were yet called so, by the ancients, in a differ- 
ent sense from that in which this name was given to the Noe- 
tians. 

At this same period, Beryllus an Arabian, bishop of Boz- 
rah, and a man of eminent piety and learning, taught that 
Christ, before his birth, had no proper subsistence nor any oth- 
er divinity than that of the Father; which opinion, when 
considered with attention, amounts to this, that Christ did 
not exist before Mary, but that a spirit issuing from God him- 
self, and therefore superior to all human souls, as being a 
portion of the divine nature, was united to him at the tima 
of his birth. Beryllus, however, was refuted by Origen, 
with such a victorious power of argument and zeal that 
he yielded up the cause, and returned into the bosom of the 
church. 

Paul of Samosata, bishop of An tioch, and also a magis- 
trate or civil judge, was very different from the pious and 
candid Beryllus, both in point of morals and doctrine. He 
w r as a vain and ar.rogant man whom riches hadrenered inso- 
lent and self sufficient. He introduced much confusion and 
trouble into the eastern churches, by his new explication of 
the doctrine of the gospel concerning the nature of God and 
Christ, and left behind him a sect, that assumed the title of 
Paulians, or Paulianists, As far as we can judge of his doc- 
trine by the accounts of it that have been transmitted to us, it 
seems to have amounted to this; "that the Son and the Holy 
Ghost exist in God in the same manner as the faculties of 
reason and activity do in man; that Christ was born a mere 
man; but that the reason or wisdom of the Father descended 
into him, and by him wrought miracles upon earth and in- 
structed the nations; and finally, that on account of this 
union of the divine word with the man Jesus, Christ might, 
though improperly, be called GodP 

Such were the real sentiments of Paul. He involved them, 
however, in such deep obscurity, by the ambiguous forms of 
speech he made use of to explain and defend them, that, af- 
ter several meetings, of the councils held to examine his er- 
rors, they could not convict him of heresy. At length, in- 
deed a council was assembled, in the year 269, in which Mal- 
chion, the rhetorician, drew him forth from his obscurity, de- 
tected his evasions, and exposed him in his true colors; in 



DIVISIONS AND HERESIES. 200 

consequence of which he was degraded from the episcopal 
order. 

It was not only in the point now mentioned, that the doc- 
trine of the gospel suffered, at this time, from the erroneous 
fancies of wrongheaded teachers. For there sprung up now, 
i n Arabia, a certain sort of minute philosophers, the disciples 
of a master, whose obscurity has concealed him fromJ|the 
knowledge of after ages, who denied the immortality ot the 
soul, believed that it perished with the body; but main- 
tained, at the same time, that it was to be again recalled 
to life with the body; by the power of God. The philoso- 
phers, who held this opinion, were called Arabians from their 
country. Origen was called from Egypt to make head against 
this rising sect, and disputed against them, in a full council, 
with such remarkable succes that they abandoned their erro- 
neous sentiments, and returned to the received doctrine of 
the church. 

Among the sects that arose in this century, we place that 
of the Novatians the last. This sect cannot be charged with 
having corrupted the doctrine of Christianity by their opin- 
ions; their crime was, that by the unreasonable severity of 
their discipline, they gave occasion to the most deplorable 
divisions, and made an unhappy rent in the church. Nova- 
tian, a presbyter of the church of Rome, a man also of uncom- 
mon learning and eloquence, but of an austere and rigid 
character, entertained the most unfavorable sentiments of 
of those who had been separated from the communion of 
the church. He indulged his inclination to severity so far, 
as to deny that such as had fallen into the commission of 
grevious transgressions, especially those who had apostized 
from the faith, under the persecution set on foot by Decius, 
were to be again received into the bosom of the church. — 
The greatest part of the presbyters were of a different opin- 
ion in this matter, especially Cornelius, whose credit, and in- 
fluence were raised to the highest pitch by the esteem and 
admiration which his eminent virtues so naturally excited. — 
Hence it happened, that when a bishop was to be chosen, in 
the year 250, to succeed Fabianus in the see of Rome, No-- 
vatian opposed the election of Cornelius with the greatest 
activity and bitterness. His opposition, however, was in 
vain, for Cornelius was chosen to that eminent office of which 
his distinguished merit rendered him so highly worthy. No- 
vatian, upon this, separated himself from the jurisdiction of 



201 INTERNAL HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

Cornelius, who in his turn, called a council at Rome, in the 
year 251, and cut off Novatian and his partisans, from the 
communion of the church. This turbulent man, being thus 
excommunicated, erected a new society, of which he was 
the firstbishop; and which, on account of the severity of its 
discipline, was followed by many, and flourished, until the 
fifth century, in the greatest part of those provinces which 
had received the gospel. The chief person who assisted No- 
vatian in this enterprise, was Novatus, a Oarthagenian pres- 
byter, a man of no principles, who during the heat of this 
controversy, had come from Carthage to Rome, to escape 
the resentment and excommunication of Cyprian, his bishop 
with whom he was highly at variance. 

There was no difference in point of doctrine, between the 
Novatians and other Christians. What peculiarly distinguish- 
ed them was their refusing to readmit to the communion of 
the church, those who, after baptism, had fallen into the com- 
mission of heinous crimes, though they did not pretend, that 
even such were excluded from all possibility or hopes of sal- 
vation. They considered the christian church as a society 
where virtue and innocence reigned universally, and none of 
whose members, from their entrance into it, had -defiled them- 
selves with any enormous crime; and, of consequence, they 
looked upon every society, which readmitted heinous offen- 
ders to its communion, as unworthy of the title of a true 
christian church. It was from hence also, that they assumed 
the title of Cathcri, i. e. the pure: and what showed still a 
more extravagant degree of vanity and arrogance, they ob- 
liged such as came over to them from the general body of 
Christians, to submit to be baptized a second time, as a ne- 
cessary preparation for entering into their society. For such 
a deep root had their favorite opinion concerning the irrevo- 
cable rejection of heinous offenders taken in their minds, and 
so great was its influence upon the sentiments they enter- 
tained of other christian societies, that they considered the 
baptism administered in those churches, which received the 
lapsed to their communion, even after the most sincere and 
undoubted repentance, as absolutely divested of the power of 
imparting the remission of sins. 



I.NDEX. 



9 

Academies 
\ m m o n ius S ace as 
Aristotle's creed 
Aristotle 
Baptism 

Baptism of Heretics 
Basilides 

Believers and catechumens 
Bishops 
Caballa 
Carpocrates 
Causes of persecution 
Christian worship 
Church government 
Church officers 
Cyprian 

Deacons and deaconesses 
Easter 
. Ebionites 
Epicureans 
Essenes 

\]\ : communication 
Casting 

First day of the week 
( inostics 
Hermogenc - 



f 


■\GE: 




29 




113 




79 139 




30 


r 84 


87 -189 




186 




147 




71 




73 173 




39 66 




149 




55 


86 


137 189 


m 


118 173 




49 97 

178 




72 




138 




141 




29 6* 




35 




ei 




88 




85 




b9 147 




155 



•+ 



203 



INDEX. 



Jews 




32 104 


Lord's supper 




86 139 189 


Manicheans 






Marcion 




144 


Millenium 


' 


186 


Montanus 




155 


Mystics 




119 185 


Nazarenes 




98 141 


Necolaitains 




97 


Ophites 


♦ 


153 


Origen 


172 r.i 


179 181 188 


Persecutions 




263 166 


Philosophy of the East 




61 


Plato 




31 


Plotinus 




171 


Prayer 




190 


Sadducees 




38 


Simon Magus 




94 


Scriptures 




74 78 


Stoics 




30 


Tatian 




146 


Tertullian 




121 


Valentine 




150 






MAIN ERRATA, 

P refaee — constitutes is put constitute . 

P age 21 . Aristelians for Aristotelians. 

44 102. Secretaries for sectaries. 

•• 159. Note. Compliment for complement 

44 176. Acolyuhi for Acolythi. 

44 182. Regiiion for region, • 

44 185. World for word. 



r flT 






Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: April 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

•1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



& 



Hi 




:&' 



t ' 



I 



■ 



l>f. 



